Rage of the Ifrit
by Fox Mcloud SNR
Summary: "A famous warrior once said that we create our own demons". The sequel to The Way Back.
1. Prologue

_"My name is Po Ping and I am the Dragon Warrior...sigh...a famous warrior once said that we create our own demons...it's only recently I've found out how true that actually is"._

_The future_

_The Dragon Warrior randomly picked a door and unlocked it using a set of keys that were hanging on the wall._

_A young male sheep was chained to the far wall, he looked malnourished and poorly looked after._

_"WAKE UP" yelled Po._

_The sheep jolted awake and cowered in fear at Po's presence._

_"I'm going to need your help with something" said Po while closing the cell door behind him._

_There was silence until a red light shone out of the bars._

_"Who is that? What is that? How do I know this? It doesn't matter. I...well a different version of me had just created demons, he didn't know then that it would come back to bite him...well me. After a long soiree in that universe I thought that Dragon Warrior's reign of terror and influence was over...little did I know then that it was only just beginning". _


	2. Chapter 1

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 1 - Something Wicked This Way Comes**

*Punch*...*Punch*. These were the only sounds that could be heard coming from the Training Hall. It was Po sparring with the training dummies, he'd been coming in here after hours for about two weeks now.

It was because of the nightmares, Po had been having severe nightmares and panic attacks when he was alone. They started because of an incident a couple of weeks ago in which Po and his friends were ambushed in a building, he had nearly died protecting Tigress so all of the masters were now being extra vigilant when it came to patrols and training.

That is except Po. his nightmares consisted of him failing to save Tigress in a repeat of that same incident. He was training to make himself faster, stronger so he would never have to suffer the pain of something like that. He had after all seen what it had done to Tigress and she was a hardcore warrior.

Po gasped and breathed heavily, he groaned when he felt a sharp pain coming from his knuckles. He'd gotten lost in his thoughts and had bruised his hands. "*Sigh*, Shifu and the others might notice this" Po mused aloud.

Po grabbed a nearby rag he had brought with him and rubbed his face with with it. After ridding his face of sweat he made his way towards the entrance of the training hall and exited. The morning sun rose onto the horizon, Po squinted and held a paw in front of his face to stave off the gentle sunlight.

_"Damn, I completely lost track of time. The others are going to be up soon, I need to get back to the barracks and into my room before they do"_. Po sprinted towards the barracks, slowed down when he was inside. He tried to make his way stealthily to his room.

He stood outside his room, he reached out to go inside but a pang of guilt stopped him. He looked over his shoulder at Tigress's room. _"This is the third night I've just left her in the middle of the night"_, despite his better judgement Po went into Tigress's room. He gazed upon her relaxed form with loving eyes.

_"It's like she gets more beautiful every time I see her"_ he thought lovingly. Po frowned and clutched his head when a flash of his nightmare invaded his mind. Suddenly the gong loudly rung and Po snapped out of his trance.

He panicked for a second when Tigress stirred and woke up, She looked at him for a second. Po yawned and stretched, while the stretch was fake the yawn was real...it had been a tiring night.

"Morning Po" Tigress said softly, she flashed a smile at Po which warmed his heart. Po walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead, "Morning kitten" he said jokingly. Tigress frowned and hit him in the arm, "I told you not to call me that Po it sounds ridiculous".

Po chuckled and clutched his arm in pain, "Sorry...kitten". Tigress sighed and got up out of her bed, she checked her paw "Po you're really gaining muscle, I felt how hard your arm was are when I hit you, you're really improving".

Po smirked "Yeah I guess I'm a late bloomer", he hated lying to her but Po didn't want to burden or worry Tigress with his problems. Po decided to change the subject "What d'you think Shifu's gonna teach us today?".

"I don't know really, he might just have us spar against each other again. I think he's worried that our enemy will attack in the next few days" she replied. Po nodded and held his paw out to her. She grabbed it and they walked outside into the hallway.

Shifu had given up on making everyone bow outside their respective rooms (According to him it gave them more time in which they could train and hone their skills in the training hall, although the other master agreed it was because he had lightened up a bit in the recent weeks). So when they got into the hallway nobody was present.

"They're probably already in the kitchen" Po speculated, Tigress nodded and led him in the kitchen's direction. As they got close they could hear the growing sound of conversation which confirmed their speculation.

"Morning guys!" said Po cheerfully upon entering the room, he and Tigress naturally took seats next to one another. The others murmured "Morning" back at him.

_"Geez, I'm the one who hasn't got any sleep but their the ones acting like zombies"_, Po got out of his seat and started to make breakfast for him and the others. During his preparations Shifu walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning students, we have a busy day ahead of us. Finish your breakfast and then come and meet in the Hall of Heroes so we can talk about your activities today", with that Shifu left to wait inside the Hall of Heroes for his students to come to him.

Tigress noticed that Po was staring vacantly into space, she nudged him gently "Are you alright Po?". He jumped at her touch, _"He must've really zoned out there if that caught him by surprise"_ thought Tigress.

Po smiled at her "I'm fine Tigress just...tired", at least he wasn't technically lying. She smiled back at him "Well after we've talked to Shifu maybe we can spend some quality time together, we haven't had the chance to in a while".

Po nodded hopefully, "Shows how much you've changed Tigress if you're willing to disobey Shifu just to spend time with Po" commented Mantis.

Tigress held Po's paw tightly "Yeah well, I've just realized there are more important things then Kung Fu". Monkey laughed "So you're just a big softie now? What happened to the hardcore leader we had?".

Tigress quickly front flipped over to Monkey's side of the table and put him in an agonizing arm lock. "Soft am I?" she asked with a hint of amusement. Monkey gasped and hit the table to show his surrender "Okay okay! You're not a softie". "Good" she said simply, Tigress let go of Monkey and resumed her place.

There was a small silence before everyone laughed at Monkey's misfortune, he rubbed his arm bashfully and silently ate his food. When they had finished Po collected everyone's plates and cutlery and put them on the side to be washed later.

With that they all made their way towards the Hall of Heroes in order to await their briefing.

XXXXXXX

Tigress pushed the door open and held it for the other masters, in the distance Shifu was hunched over the Moon Pool gazing at his reflection, just by his posture you could tell that Shifu was tired, it had been a long, hard couple of weeks for them all. It also brought them all a sense of Deja-Vu as this was a similiar scene to when they had talked to Shifu after barely surviving the explosion.

They all stood behind Shifu who still hadn't turned around, as if he wasn't acknowledging their presence.

Without turning around he began.

"Now before we begin we will go over everything we know so far about the enemy" Shifu said, Mantis groaned "Again? We've done this everyday".

"Yes Master Mantis we will!" He turned around fiercely and pointed his staff threateningly at Mantis's head. Shifu sighed irritably. "Now, the information that Viper has gathered using her feminine charms combined with what Tigress got with her...feminine charms-", Mantis interrupted him "You mean the info she got from scaring the crap outta that guy".

Po smirked at Tigress who was desperately trying to stop a smile from appearing on her face. Shifu nodded sternly "Quite". He coughed into his hand and carried on, "This indicates that all of the gangs in the nearby area have been united under a figurehead, one of the advantages we have always had over the gangs was their disorganization, however with this new found unity they are more dangerous then ever".

Shifu stopped to let this information sink in, his pride swelled when he saw none of his students showed the slightest hint of fear or any sign of wanting to back down. "We know nothing of their leader, but it can be assumed that he was behind the ambush on all of you a couple of weeks ago". Po subtly flinched, however it went unnoticed by everyone.

Monkey frowned "When we find this guy we can show him that justice will always prevail!" he raised his fist triumphantly. Crane snickered "Nice speech Monkey". Monkey sighed irritably "How come when Po says cheesy one liners you guys laugh? But when I do it you guys look weirdly at me?".

Viper rolled her eyes "It's because Po is a child so we expect it from him", "Hey!" said Po. Tigress smiled at him "You have to admit it's somewhat true Po". He raised an eyebrow in response.

Shifu raised his hand for silence "Enough! We will spar for an hour then you will all patrol the Valley, with the increase in gang activity we cannot be too careful". They all bowed at him "Yes Master" they said in unison. Shifu hobbled off to the Peach Tree to meditate.

XXXXXX

As they made their way into the Training Hall they debated amongst their selves who would be fighting who. "I'll fight any of you except Tigress, she's too strong for me!" protested Mantis. Tigress smirked evilly "You shouldn't have said out loud Mantis, now she wants to" chuckled Viper.

"Let's just go with our usual partners" suggested Crane. "Always the voice of reason Crane" joked Monkey.

They entered the Training Hall, they all gasped at the state of the equipment inside. Most of the training dummies were either broken or unusable for training. "Who could of done this?" asked Tigress. Po pretended to act surprised _"You idiot Po! I should've tidied up a bit before leaving, I'm really walking a line here"_.

"It could have been some of the bandits we've been trying to keep out" said Po, it was hard to keep the guilt out of his voice but he didn't want anyone to know just yet, especially Tigress.

"Well we'll just have to be more vigilant and cautious from now on" ordered Tigress.

Po and Tigress decided to spar first, they unwisely declined to warm up instead they just decided to get straight to it.

Tigress went into a low stance with a cocky smirk plastered on her face. "Bring it panda, if we win I decide where we hang out. If you win then it's your choice, either way I still get what I want".

Po said nothing, "It's not a competition Tigress", this surprised Tigress and the others and she let down her guard just for a second. Po took his stance "I've already won", there was the panda they knew and loved, a cocky smirk found it's way onto Po's face and in that moment you could feel the connection the two warriors shared in the air.

Crane took it upon himself to be the referee for the spar, "First to three downs wins...okay? Begin!".

Tigress swiftly launched herself at Po's legs in order to sweep them out from under him, Po saw this coming and jumped straight over the tiger. While in mid leap he grabbed Tigress's tail and threw her towards the ceiling.

Tigress contorted her body so that her legs were pointed towards the sky. She touched the roof and using all of the power in her lower body launched herself towards Po with frightening speed. Po didn't have enough time to dodge and Tigress crashed straight into him.

Po saw stars in his eyes, Tigress held out a paw for him to take. "One to Tigress!" yelled Crane. Po took Tigress's paw and pulled himself up.

"You ok Po?" she asked softly. Po nodded and resumed his stance. Tigress's face became devoid of emotion in preparation for the spar, Po smiled internally at the nostalgia it brought.

Even though Tigress had changed since being with Po, it was reassuring to see some of her iron jawed stoicism still there. It was after all what made her such a dangerous opponent and a capable leader.

"Begin!" yelled Crane for a second time, this time Po struck first with a leg sweep. Tigress leaped it and tried to tackle Po to the ground after landing. Po dodged at the last second and using Tigress's momentum simply pushed her down onto the floor.

Tigress felt her face burning at the amateurish way she had been brought down. She snarled angrily and took her stance yet again. Po took his again and they stared into each other's eyes daring the other to make a move.

Before the final fight began Zeng burst into the Training Hall, "Masters! Masters! Come quick someone is attacking the village".

Po and Tigress immediately stopped what they were doing and ran over to the goose, "Who is it Zeng?" inquired Tigress. "I-I don't know I've never seen him before, all I know is that he has a lot of mooks with him, so be careful".

The master quickly exited the hall and started the descent down into the Valley.

Zeng gulped nervously to himself, having witnessed the attackers he was nervous for the masters.

**Okay everyone the story has officially begun. Now I want to ask a favor which isn't fanfiction related. I have a you tube channel called Middlemen Comms, it's a commentary channel on which me and my friend talk over video games, movies etc. I bring this up because we have just started a Kung Fu Panda marathon. In this marathon we'll be looking at everything in the franchise including the shorts on the DVDs (Secrets of the Five and Secrets of the Masters), two episodes of The Legends of Awesomeness TV show, The Holiday Special that was shown on the Christmas of 2010, the soundtracks which we will review track by track and last but not least the movies themselves, we've even included a little musical cover of Oogway Ascends. If you enjoy the content please like, comment and subscribe. My you tube alias is called NoelLennonArmstrong.**

**We also do readings of fanfictions so if you want yours to be read by us thereby giving it some promotion, feel free to ask! I'll even review it as I'm reading it.**

**If you're interested go on youtube and type in middlemencomms, you should see our logo straight away.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 2- Too Easy**

**Before we start I just want to throw a shout out to LucidWriter. He's writing a NiGHTS fanfiction at the moment entitled NiGHTS: Advent Dream. While I'm personally not familiar with the franchise it is a very enjoyable story...so go read it.**

**With the plug over let's continue.**

Po caught up to Tigress while on the way down to confront the invaders in the village. "It's a good thing Zeng burst in when he did huh Tigress? Otherwise you would've lost". Tigress snorted "In your dreams panda".

Po chuckled "When we're alone we are _so _sparring again", Tigress smirked "I'm sure we can find other things to do as well". Her subtle hinting worked and Po tripped due to the shock and embarrassment. He got up and looked up to see the bemused faces of the masters.

They all shook their head and carried on down to the village. Tigress stayed where she was and giggled "You're too easy to embarrass Po".

Po saw his chance while she was laughing "Yeah well I'm sure I'll get you back next time...kitten". She immediately stopped and turned to confront the brave soul who dared to call her such a degrading nickname. But he was running away.

"Smart move panda" she growled, there _would _be retribution.

XXXXX

Panic and chaos had spread throughout the Valley for the short time he had been there, he moved stealthily throughout it as if he wasn't even there.

His voice was calm, collected but strong, it commanded the attention of the bandits. "Remember you idiots when the panda arrives with his friends you will leave, I will handle them alone". A nearby wolf growled, "Where does he find the audacity to call us that?" he said to his friend.

The other wolf shrugged "I don't know, but I wouldn't disobey him you saw what he did to Li Xiu Ying. He's been our leader for years but when this guy swans in we're suddenly taking orders from him". The first wolf hissed to silence him.

The object of their conversation walked up to them, "I'm so sorry I couldn't hear you from all the way over there" he pointed at the spot where he was previously standing. "Is there something you wish to say?".

The wolves shook their heads fearfully, he scowled in response "Good".

A noodle-hat wearing goose stepped outside his restaurant and ran towards him ,"Why are you doing this?" he asked angrily. The assailant turned to face him and got right into the goose's terrified face. "I'm doing this for the same reason The Dragon Warrior did this to me", he stepped back and let the goose gaze upon his form.

"The...Dragon Warrior... did this to you? Why?" said the goose.

He became angry again "Because he could", he said simply. The goose scoffed "Po would never do that to anyone!".

"You dare to question the truth!" he rose his arm to strike down the goose but was stopped by a kick to the head. The stranger landed in a painful heap on the floor.

When he got up he saw The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five ready to attack.

XXXXXXX

Po and the others gasped at their enemy, Po had kicked it to protect his father. "Dad come over here while it's down", Mr Ping ran over to his son. They noticed the wolves begin to surround them so they got into fighting stances.

"What are we looking at?" said Mantis, it got back up.

It was a suit of armor with purple ethereal energy running through where the joints would be if it was worn by a person. It somewhat resembled Master Flying Rhino's armor except the helmet was different and it didn't have any 'authentic' battle damage...at least not yet anyway. The helmet was similar to the helmet's worn by terracotta warriors...except it had no face.

"Ah you made it I'm so thrilled" the armor said sarcastically. He turned his head over the shoulder joint "Leave now" he said to the wolves. As per his command they quickly dashed away leaving behind everything that they had looted from the villagers houses.

Tigress growled, "Monkey, Mantis get after them!". Monkey and Mantis went to leave but they were by the armor moving to block them.

"Oh no you don't, Master Monkey will stay here, Mantis can go, he I have no quarrel with". Mantis looked to Tigress to confirm, she nodded without taking her eyes off of the magical armor.

Mantis went in the direction of the wolves, he kept an eye on the armor just in case it tried anything as Mantis went past. It didn't, it just kept it's gaze upon the remaining warriors, specifically Po.

Po was silent, he was analyzing his opponent looking for any weakness.

Because of Po's silence, Tigress decided to do the talking. "Well who else will you let go?" she asked.

"You, Crane and Mantis are not my targets. You three go after those wolves and stop them before they cause any harm". Tigress blinked confusedly at him, _"Is this guy for real? He's just going to let the three of us go. I won't leave Po and the others with him"_.

"Why are you so concerned about the well being of innocents? You've invaded the Valley", Tigress asked. The armor was quiet for a second "I don't want the blood of innocents on my hands" it muttered.

"Ok Crane, find Mantis and go after those wolves. Get as many as you can!" she ordered , Crane nodded hesitantly, he clearly didn't want to leave his friends with this person. Crane flew off to find his small friend.

The armor laughed "Crane and Mantis, the world's worst attempt at resistance since the last time the Dragon Warrior attempted to go on a diet". Po frowned "Hey shut up, at least I have a stomach".

This seemed to anger the mysterious assailant who roared and ran towards the remaining masters.

His movements were slow and sloppy, he clearly was still getting used to his presumably new form. Po grabbed Mr Ping and jumped away from the fight so he could get him to safety.

When they were alone in a alley Po put his father down, "Dad stay here this won't take long". Mr Ping tugged on Po's shorts before he left, "Wait Po, he said that you turned him into that suit of armor".

Po frowned "He did? I don't know what he means I've never met him before in my life". Mr Ping nodded "Go and get him son".

Po left without a word to join the battle, when he got back he was surprised to see that Tigress, Monkey and Viper had already taken care of him.

Tigress smirked "You didn't miss much Po, he's slow and punches like a child". Po smiled and knelt down to the armor. "Who are you?" he asked.

It was silent for a second, "My name is Liu, and I am going to kill you Dragon Warrior" he said coldly.

Po snorted in amusement, "Tough talk from a defeated bad guy".

"I may not be as powerful as you or any of the five Dragon Warrior. But there _will_ be a time when you let your guard down, when you're too busy protecting others to watch your own back. Then I'll kill you" he sneered.

"No you won't" Po said with a cocky smirk, "You forget that I'm surrounded by the most awesome team in the world". Monkey and Viper beamed with pride at his words.

He laughed "But look how easily I took you all out with just a few pinches of sulfur and saltpeter, and that was when I was alone! Now I have an army and you are only six warriors and a feeble old man". That wiped the smiles off of their faces.

Po said nothing but he had an aura of anger about him. _"So this guy is the reason I'm having nightmares_".

He got back up and looked at Tigress, "Let's bring him to Shifu maybe he can help us figure out what this guy is".

She nodded and watched Po drag Liu towards the Jade Palace. She was worried, if this was indeed the same person who had attacked them then there was no knowing what his true capabilities were.

Monkey frowned "That was far too easy, we should all stay near him just in case he tries anything". Tigress nodded in agreement.

XXXXXX

They all got to the palace and brought the armor to Shifu who was currently in the Jade Palace.

Shifu looked at their capture with disdain "So you're responsible for the recent attacks on both my students and the villagers under my protection?". Liu nodded silently.

Shifu looked at Monkey and Viper, "Tie him to one of the pillars". Po had a troubled look on his face, "What is it Po?" Shifu inquired.

"It's just that he was caught so easily, I don't like it he might have another trap laying in wait somewhere". Shifu sighed _"So it must come to this"_.

"There is only one thing we can do" Shifu said, there was worry in his voice so Tigress and Po knew it wouldn't be good.

"And what is that Master?" asked Tigress.

"We have to interrogate him".


	4. Chapter 3

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 3- Why'd You Wanna Kill Me?**

Shifu led Po, Tigress, Monkey and Viper outside. "Where are Crane and Mantis?" he asked them. "They are just rounding up the wolves that escaped" said Viper.

"Ok, Monkey and Viper you two go and help Crane and Mantis. We cannot allow any of those wolves to regroup" Shifu ordered. The two master bowed and left to help their friends.

Shifu addressed Po and Tigress, "I've had the chance to examine him a bit". Po nodded expectantly and gestured with his hand "Annnnd?" he asked.

Shifu frowned at the panda's attitude "His...", Shifu struggled to find the right word."Body, appears to have the properties of the Sacred Blood Stone, by which I mean he gives off the same kind of chi. This might explain why the stone that we had in our possession, the one we acquired from the evil Dragon Warrior broke a couple of weeks ago , his soul must of escaped it's cage and inhabited the armor as a body".

Tigress gasped "Why? How?", Shifu became stoic "That's it what we are going to find out today Tigress". With that they entered the hall to begin.

The armor was strapped up against one the support pillars, the masters approached carefully as they were still unsure of his true capabilities.

Shifu was suspicious. Because of the armors lack of a face it was hard for Shifu to get a read on his body language.

Po spoke first, "Why are you trying to kill me?".

The suit chuckled "If you can make god bleed then people will cease to believe in him, it doesn't matter whether I succeeded or not, now that people saw how easy it was for me to attempt it, I imagine that you will have to watch your back a bit more often panda" he spat.

Po frowned, "But I haven't done anything to you, I don't even know who you are?".

The suit was silent for a second, "My name is Liu and I am a warrior that _you_ used to make your heinous stone".

Everyone gasped, "You mean you're one of the soul's that was used to make The Dragon Warrior's Sacred Blood Stone?" exclaimed Tigress.

He nodded "Indeed"

"But you must know, that was a Dragon Warrior from a different dimension" said Shifu.

He nodded again "I do. But any Dragon Warrior has the capacity to turn evil, I must extinguish this one before it gets to that point".

_"It sounds like the other Crane" _thought Po. His mind quickly fluttered back to the jaded and bitter friend that he couldn't save, a wave of guilt rushed through him.

"I wish to speak to Master Tigress and The Dragon Warrior alone, you have my word as a warrior that I will not attempt to escape or kill him" said Liu to Shifu.

Shifu was about to harshly decline the request but he was rushed out of the hall by Po, "What do you think you're doing panda?" he seethed.

Po whispered in his ear "I'm gonna see what else I can get out of this guy, he might end up telling me how he fights or something like that".

Shifu frowned "Do you really think he will give up something like that?".

Po shook his head "No. But it's worth a shot".

Shifu sighed "Fine, just be careful. Po this is your first time interrogating someone are you up to it?"

Po looked over his shoulder at Liu who met his look.

Po nodded confidently, Shifu left.

The panda walked back over to Tigress who continued to glare at the armor.

Po smiled and grabbed Tigress paw, she gasped and ripped her paw out of his. She threw a dirty look at Po.

Liu noticed this and laughed loudly, "Ah so you two are...together".

Neither Po nor Tigress said anything, Po just looked hurtfully at Tigress and she just folded her arms and glared into space. This confirmed it for him.

Po frowned and looked at the armor, "You wanted me so here I am".

"I wanted to see what you'd do, and you didn't disappoint, you made a war out of it and nearly got many people killed" Liu said smugly.

"You attacked I had to stop you!" yelled Po.

"And then what? When the chips are down how far would you go to save the ones you love?" Liu sneered.

Po suddenly rushed at him and grabbed the armor where the neck would be. It was getting to Po because on some level he knew that one day it might come to that...and Po honestly didn't know what he would do in that situation.

"It won't come to that I won't let it!" Po hissed angrily. Tigress observed cautiously "_He's in control"._

"You're only as good as the world allows you to be, if I was to for example try and kill her" Liu nodded towards Tigress who growled back at him, "What would you do?". Po gasped and let go of him.

Tigress walked over to Po and gently led him away, she put her lips close to his ear and whispered "Po don't let him get to you, we're a team and it won't ever get to that point alright?".

Po nodded "I love you Tigress", she beamed and hugged him "I love you too Po, now give me a moment alone with him".

Po shook his head, "No. You heard what he said, he'll do anything to get to me".

Tigress rubbed his shoulder, "I'll be fine Po, if it makes you feel better stand here while I talk to him, you can still make a move if he tries anything and I can talk to him privately".

Po nodded hesitantly, Tigress walked over to the armor.

"Liu, if I give you my word that I will never let Po become the monster that you perceive him to be will you give up peacefully?".

"Tigress, The Dragon Warrior is going to be your death you know that right?" he said softly.

"Don't do this, I'm sure that you were a nice person before all of this, but if you attempt to kill the one I love, then I will put you down" admonished Tigress.

Liu shook his head "No, this is between me and the panda".

Tigress glared at him one more time "Well me and the panda are a team so if you try anything know that I won't hesitate".

Tigress walked off, she gestured for Po to follow her.

When they got outside they were greeted by Shifu.

"How did it go?" he asked, he didn't show it but Shifu was concerned about Liu's ability to get under both their skins.

"I couldn't get anything out of him master...I'm sorry" said Po, he bowed respectfully.

Shifu sighed "it's fine Po, I'm just glad you didn't give him any leverage".

Tigress glanced at Po with a knowing look, "Can we be excused Master? There is something I wish to talk to Po about".

Shifu nodded "Of course, I will watch over him for now. We will all take shifts, if you need any of the other masters they are all still out looking for the wolves. "After you have your talk, both of you patrol the Valley just in case any of his wolves try any revenge stunts or try and free him". Shifu hobbled into the Hall of Heroes to begin his shift.

Tigress led Po to the Sacred Peach Tree, she sat down on the edge of the cliff and patted the spot next to her so Po would join her.

When Po was seated she spoke, "Look, Po I know that our relationship is great, believe I'm grateful for it every single day. But you can't show that we care for one another when we are either in the field or interrogating someone...just don't do it at all when we are in the presence of an enemy, all you'd do is give them an advantage over us and that's exactly what you've done with him!". Tigress had gotten increasingly emotional during her speech.

Po frowned and looked out towards the horizon, "Why are you getting so upset Tigress? It was one little mistake, besides together we're unstoppable!".

Tigress pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration "I appreciate that Po, but if we ever fight him again he will target one of us in order to provoke the other, and you know as well I do that we would fall for it and...I can't lose you again". It ashamed Tigress to show such a vulnerable side but she needed to get the point across to Po.

Po sighed and hugged her, "I understand Tigress. Look don't worry about, I'll ask Shifu if we can stay together during our shift to watch each other's backs. Would that make you feel better?".

Tigress remained silent but put her head on Po's shoulder to show her confirmation.

Po chewed his lip nervously, he was contemplating whether to tell Tigress about his visions and nightmares. He took a deep breath to calm himself, he chuckled when he realized he had nothing to worry about. This is was Tigress the love of his life, he had no reason to think she wouldn't help him out.

"Tigress" he said strongly, she purred at his use of her name. "Yes Po". "There's something I want to tell you".

Her heart fluttered slightly, was he going to ask her a certain question? She tried to hide her excitement beneath her...Tigressness, but the female part of her was giddy at the thought.

He rubbed his arm nervously, "Uhhhh...see the thing is". Tigress leaned in closer, her breath was on his neck and he shivered in delight.

_"This moment is too perfect, I don't want to ruin it by telling her. No it can wait"_ he thought while staring into her perfect amber eyes.

"Never mind, it can wait". Tigress sighed disappointingly, "Ok Po, I can wait". He smiled at her.

**Wanna know something funny? When I was writing the darker parts of this chapter I listened to a song. That song was 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' by BJ Thomas. The irony is amazing. Read it again with this song playing and the tone changes completely.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 4- Story of the Armor and the Sheep**

**I'm quite disappointed that this isn't as popular as The Way Back or A Better World? But que sera sera, we move on. **

Crane sighed, he and the others had managed to find about five wolves. _"They're really good at hiding when they want to be_". He was currently waiting outside the jail in the Valley of Peace for Viper, Mantis and Monkey to return.

He waited another hour before deciding to just go back to the palace and report to Shifu, he reasoned that the others wouldn't need his help. Beside he wanted to see their newest enemy to try and judge his abilities and intelligence.

Crane reached the Hall of Heroes and went in, he frowned when he saw the armor chained to one of the support pillars and Shifu calmly meditating in front of him.

Crane approached Shifu while constantly keeping an eye on the suit, Crane hadn't actually seen the...thing, in action so he thought it was best to be cautious. Without turning around or opening his eyes Shifu spoke, "Master Crane, have you finished your task?". Crane jumped at the sound of Shifu's voice.

"Oh...er..yes Master" he said nervously.

Shifu stood up and faced Liu, "Now that Tigress and Po aren't here would you mind explaining to me how you ended up with both that body and with the desire to kill my student".

Liu chuckled, "Ok then".

XXXXXX

_One year after Tigress is killed in A Better World?_

_It was a nice day, the sun was breaking through the clouds and illuminating the Valley of Peace. However regardless of the name it was hardly peaceful._

_Ever since The Dragon Warrior had lost Tigress things had been getting steadily worse, people were disappearing off of the streets at night, taken by his rhino guards. The excuse was that these people had committed a crime of some sort but a rumor had been making it's way around the terrified populace of the Valley._

_It was a small rumor but it would have lasting consequences for everyone later on. It was that people were being used to make something, something that would shape the Valley into the vision The Dragon Warrior had for it._

_It was in this atmosphere that a young male sheep made his way home from work, he was a baker. He was generally well liked, he had a wife and children whom he loved with all of his heart. He had only recently moved to the Valley in the hopes of making a better life for his family, he had never actually seen the warrior that the people spoke of._

_His wife had made him promise not to walk the streets at night due to the recent kidnappings but he broke that promise in the hope of seeing her quicker after he had finished for the day._

_He was alone in the streets, the pale moonlight was the only light and a thin fog had descended upon the Valley. "Winter is coming" he thought to himself. Suddenly a bag was placed over his head, the world went black soon after. He struggled desperately but in vain, his attackers were just too strong for him to fight off._

_The bag was taken off after a ten minute walk. His eyes adjusted to the bright light of the room, he looked at his surroundings._

_He was in the Hall of Heroes, "No" he thought. "This is it, nobody comes out of here alive, why didn't I listen to you?" he thought sadly. It wasn't the thought of death that scared him, it was the thought of never seeing his wife's beauty again, never seeing the smiling faces of his children. These were the things that truly frightened him._

_"Do you know why you are here?" a voice boomed, it echoed off the walls of the hall and shook the sheep to his core. He knew that voice, everyone knew __that __voice. A chill ran it's way through his bones at the sight of the Dragon Warrior striding menacingly towards him._

_He truly was as terrifying as the other villagers described hi, he had a scar over his right eye which was presumably gained in a feirce battle. He was very muscular and carried an air of confidence, he would of looked quite friendly if it wasn't for the look in his eye._

_The fire of hatred in his eye was almost blinding to the mild sheep. He looked like he had lost everything and the person he once was had died inside him. Sadness and regret oozed off of him._

_The sheep shook his head in response to the question, The Dragon Warrior stopped in front of him. "You are here sheep, because you are going to help me mold the Valley into a safe place. You will one day help me destroy my enemies and together we will secure this Valley's future!". _

_The sheep smiled in relief, so the rumors weren't true, people didn't die here they were just helping The Dragon Warrior achieve peace. "What do I have to do almighty Dragon Warrior?"._

_The Dragon Warrior shook his hand, "Don't call me almighty, The Dragon Warrior will be fine". Apparently some of the old Po was still in there. He leaned in close "Oh don't worry about it" he said evilly, "You won't have to do a thing"._

_The sheep was thrown in the cells, he looked around fearfully. He thought of his wife and how she would react when he wouldn't make it home, she would panic but tell the children he was still on his way back._

_XXXXXXX_

_For a whole year the sheep was kept in the cells, he didn't know why he was there. He didn't speak, he just stayed where he was for a whole year. He missed his family every waking moment. He regretted walking home that night oh so long ago. He was malnourished and if he had a mirror he would've guessed he didn't look too great either._

_One morning he was jolted awake by his cell door opening, after a whole year of no contact with the outside world he was somewhat glad at the thought of a conversation. His relief soon vanished at the sight of his visitor._

_It was the Dragon Warrior, he looked no different from the last time he had seen him. _

_"WAKE UP!" yelled the Dragon Warrior, the sheep started to shake in fear. "Oh god, he's going to kill me" he thought._

_Po smirked evilly, "I'm going to need your help with something", the words were familiar but the context was different...so different. _

_He held his hand up and between his index finger and thumb was a small blood red stone. The sheep gulped nervously._

_The world went red._

XXXXXX

Shifu sighed after he had finished his story, "I'm sorry that happened to you Liu, but I will not allow you to harm Po. He is nothing like your Dragon Warrior, I have faith that he will never end up like that".

Crane nodded "He'll always have me and the others to help him along the way". Liu was silent for a second.

"My name isn't Liu just so you know, it goes to prove how little you truly care for the people you claim to protect when you hardly know any of them". Liu made a small movement which went unnoticed by either of the masters.

Crane gasped "Then what is your name?" he demanded. The armor shook it's head "I will never tell you, it doesn't matter who I am. But what I will say is this". he gestured with his head to the entrance of the Hall. "I'm down in the Valley right now just living my life, the other me has no idea how much your student is going to ruin it".

"Okay that's enough, Crane you stay here and watch him while I gather the other, we need to discuss what is going to happen to him". Liu started to laugh, Shifu frowned at him, "What is so amusing?".

"One more thing, while I was distracting you fools with that made up story you gave me plenty of time to do this!". Shifu and Crane were knocked out by Master Rhino's armor which had been brought to life by Liu, he mentally commanded the armor over to him.

It broke the chains around his body, he sneered at the unconscious master. "Idiots" he muttered. "I can use the blood in me to control inanimate objects, however I need time to do it which you helpfully provided me with".

Liu started to walk out of the Hall, "Now to kill the panda".

**Just so people know, video number 2 of Kung Fu Panda month has now been uploaded. This time it's a review of the first film's soundtrack, the video is called "Music to Kung Fu to". If you want to check this out just go to my profile for the details.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 5- Soldier's Heart**

**I want to dedicate this chapter to Nelson Mandela. Equality, Courage and Freedom were all things he helped to teach us, the world is a worse place without him.**

Po and Tigress walked through the village calmly. Personally Tigress loved walking through the village in the evening, it was serene, peaceful and being with Po only completed the paradise.

A rabbit child meekly walked up to them, Po and Tigress exchanged knowing glances and stopped. Tigress knelt down to the rabbit's level "What can we do for you little one?". Po smiled _"She's come so far since she shouted at that fan that one time, huh...I remember that's when we started getting close"_.

The rabbit smiled at Tigress's kindness, she hadn't expected the tiger master to be so nice to her. However it wasn't Tigress that the child wanted to see, she held the paper and a pen out to Po.

Po accepted it, "What's your name?". "Lana", "That's a nice name" said Tigress. Po smirked "It's not as nice as Tigress...or as original" he said sarcastically.

Tigress hit Po in the arm, Lana giggled at their mock fight. Po signed it "Never surrender from The Dragon Warrior and the Great Master Tigress!".

He handed the paper back, while he knelt down the rabbit whispered something in his ear. "How did you survive the explosion?" the child whispered. A cold chill made it's way down Po's spine. Po broke the pencil and his hand began to shake badly.

Tigress frowned "Are you okay Po?". "I...I broke...I-I broke the pencil", Po started to hyperventilate. "N-no...not here" his voice was shaky and ragged with fear, Po dropped the pencil and paper and sprinted away.

Tigress held her paw outstretched, but Po had already gone. Tigress let her arm fall down to her side and looked at the rabbit accusingly who appeared frightened at the gaze Tigress was giving.

"What did you say?" she said angrily. Lana whimpered in fear, Tigress sighed and knelt down. "What did you say?", the second time she said it more softly and gave the rabbit a softer gaze.

"I-I just asked him how he survived that explosion a couple of weeks ago, the rumor was that he nearly died. I was just curious". Tigress frowned to herself, _"Why would Po react that way to being asked that? Is the memory of that day too much for him? He's had close calls before so I don't understand why this one in particular has got to him"_.

Tigress stood up and looked down at Lana, "Listen Lana, it's not your fault The Dragon Warrior ran off he's...just going through some tough times at the moment. When he's better we'll see you again, is that okay?".

Lana nodded and smiled sweetly, "It's fine Master Tigress". She looked uncertain for a moment, "Would...would you mind telling The Dragon Warrior that I'm sorry for upsetting him?".

Tigress nodded, "I'll make sure he knows". She got on all fours and ran in the same direction Po went. She had a pretty good idea where he was going.

XXXXXX

Po made it to his dad's noodle shop without anyone stopping him. The place was packed, all of the customers stared at him in admiration and crowded around him to get an autograph, hug a child etc.

Po pushed past them all and ran to his room, he sat on his bed and held his head in his hands. He could feel the rhythm of his pounding heart, he was breathing so rapidly his chest started to hurt, the nausea he felt was almost overwhelming , the tension in his muscles was incredible and he was sweating profusely.

_"What's happening to me?"_ Po thought desperately, _"Every time I think of that explosion I...ahhh there it goes again why did I think of it"_. A cold chill ran through Po yet again. He suddenly heard someone trying to come up into his room.

"H-hang on a second Dad, I'm just coming down" Po said loudly . There was silence for a little while before, "Ok son, if you need me I'm just downstairs with the customers" Mr Ping yelled back up.

Po breathed deeply trying to calm himself down and bring his heart rate back down, _"This is too much, I can't have this happen to me every time someone mentions...it. I should talk to Shifu about it, he would probably know something about this. Well whatever I do I shouldn't talk to Tigress about this, I don't need to worry her about any of this"_.

He heard someone trying to get into his room again, Po stood up angrily. "I said not now Da-", he sentence was cut off by someone bursting through his floor, grabbing him and throwing him out of his own window.

Po yelled in surprise and hit the ground hard, he groaned and stood up to face his attacker. Facing him was Liu, they were both standing in the alleyway where Mr Ping had originally found Po.

"You again?" Po said in disbelief, Liu , in response rushed at him and threw a hard punch to Po's gut. Surprisingly Po couldn't dodge it, he took it and it winded him.

He stumbled and fell to the floor, _"I can't fight back, my body's muscle memory is still remembering the trap, I can't shake this feeling"_. Unfortunately Liu noticed Po's struggle, he finally spoke.

"Aw, having trouble?" he sneered, taking the rare chance at The Dragon Warrior's vulnerability. Po yelled and threw punches at the armor to no avail, he was just too slow. It didn't hurt that he was getting progressively weaker either. Po tried a jump kick at Liu.

He grabbed Po's foot and threw him against the floor, the wind had well and truly been knocked out of Po's sails at this point. Because he was losing the fight as well as his earlier condition. Po was exhausted, he could hardly think and he couldn't catch his breath.

It wasn't looking good for The Dragon Warrior.

Liu kicked him in the face, Po grunted and tried to stand up again. Liu placed his foot on Po's head and pressed down, "No, you won't be getting up ever again". He gestured with his arms dramatically.

"This is where you will die Dragon Warrior, in a small alley behind a noodle restaurant. It is a good representative of how much people will remember you", Liu flipped Po over and put his foot on Po's neck.

He started to press down slowly to torture Po, if he had wanted to end this quickly he could've in one swift crush. But he wanted his enemy to suffer just as he had.

Po tried to pull his foot away but his strength had deserted him. _"No! C'mon, I can't die here"_. Just before the world went black, Tigress grabbed Liu from behind and threw him as hard and as far as she could. He crashed into a wall and brought down a small empty building down on top of him.

Tigress helped Po up and supported him, Liu burst out of the wreckage and landed in front of the two.

"Damn you Tigress, I nearly had him!" Shouted Liu. Tigress stepped in front of the cowering panda protectively. "No you didn't" she sneered coldly.

"How did you even find us?" Po asked with a struggle. Tigress pointed towards the noodle restaurant which had a massive gaping hole where Po had been flung outside of it. "You weren't exactly subtle, I heard you from all the way over the other side of the Valley".

"Well it doesn't matter, you won't be able to fight me off by yourself while also looking after him" said Liu snidely. Tigress smirked cockily, "Who said I was by myself".

She whistled and the Furious Five and Shifu surrounded Liu, "I brought backup" Tigress said with the smirk still on her face.

Liu knew he couldn't win against the master together so he did what he did best. He retreated by darting into the alleys.

"Get after him!" ordered Shifu, the Five bowed and pursued him.

Shifu held Po's other arm, he and Tigress made their way up to the palace with the shaken panda.

Tigress felt she had to know _now _"Master what is wrong with Po?" she asked whilst trying to hide the concern in her voice...badly.

Shifu sighed, "Tigress, lets just get him up into the palace first. I managed to get Mr Ping up here while you distracted Liu so he can help us talk with Po about this".

Tigress nodded grimly, she knew the next hour would be emotionally taxing but she wanted to find out what was wrong with her love, and do her best to help him.


	7. Chapter 6

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 6- Explanation Time and How to Trick/Tempt a Panda**

"Just give up, you can't get away" ordered Viper. Her and the rest of the Five had Liu cornered, they were all panting due to the sheer exertion from trying to trap him. Because he was a suit of armor he didn't have any breath or pulse so he didn't have to rest.

Liu shook his head, "Never. I'll never give up, the panda has to die. Don't you see that he's going to be the end of you all?"

None of them said anything, Viper hissed angrily. "Judging by your reactions or lack of reactions I'd say that there is some small part of all of you that thinks that is his destiny".

A surprisingly mature statement came from Mantis, "Po is our friend and the boyfriend of someone I consider a sister, I will always support him in whatever he does so no Liu I don't think he will become evil, not just because some rust bucket says so at any rate".

The others nodded to shown their unity. Liu sighed "I wished to spare all of you...well most of you at any rate" he said while gesturing towards Monkey and Viper.

"Listen well Masters I give you an ultimatum. I will give you three days to evacuate the valley and prepare yourselves for my return, I will be bringing my wolves with me and there will be no mercy. If the Dragon Warrior is alone and accepts his fate with dignity then I shall leave and never return".

Crane laughed "You talk like you're going to get away from us, we've got you cornered Liu there's no escape".

If he had a face Liu would sneer. "You may have cornered me Crane but I'm far from trapped". He spread his arms wide and detached them from his body, the fluid that made up Liu's body evaporated.

The five gasped and stared in shock at the armors sorcery. Each separate part went in a different direction, "Everyone take an armor part and chase it!" yelled Monkey. They all ran in separate directions after the armor parts.

When they all left the fluid came back and reformed into Liu's armor. He gasped and panted heavily when he was fully formed, "I can't do that again, that nearly killed me". He looked up towards the palace, "I'll give you this reprieve Dragon Warrior but we are most definitely not finished".

He walked out of the Valley to find his wolves...well what remained of them at any rate. "I'll see you in three days".

XXXXXXX

Shifu opened the door to the hall, "I'll go and get Mr Ping so we can help you Po". Tigress was supporting Po, she lead him into the hall and he broke contact with her. Po stumbled over to the Moon Pool and gazed at his reflection.

They both waited patiently for a while until Tigress decided she couldn't wait any longer.

"What was that Po? Why were you at such a disadvantage towards that weakling?" asked Tigress sharply. He winced at her harsh tone.

Po looked away out of shame, how could he ever have not trusted her to handle it? She grabbed his paw. "Po, tell me. We need to help you conquer whatever it is, so next time we fight him you won't lose".

Po bit his lip, Tigress knew he wouldn't tell her without a lot more provoking, but this was getting frustrating, it reminded her of the time when they were in the prison in Gongmen this time however instead of trying to force the truth out of him Tigress knew she was going to have to try something a little more devious.

Tigress let go of his paw and turned her back on him. She knew she was going to have to resort to her last and final weapon. It was dishonorable, underhand and completely unsportsmanlike. But it _would_ work.

She began to whimper as if she was crying, Po gasped and went to comfort her. He put a paw on her shoulder but she swiftly pulled away, "Leave me alone Po, I knew you never trusted me".

"What? Of course I do", he protested. Tigress ignored him and continued to 'cry', Po panicked about what to do. He didn't want to worry Tigress but he hated to hear her cry.

"Fine! I''ll...I'll tell you". Tigress's ears pricked up, Po rubbed his shoulder nervously. "I'm a piping hot mess. It's been going on for a while...and I didn't want to worry you". Tigress turned to face him with a worried look, "What is it Po?".

"Hey! Weren't you just...", the penny dropped. Po sighed irritably "Great. Tricked".

"Nothings been the same since that explosion", he explained. "I've risked my life lots of times but when you were in danger that was the only time I've ever felt like I had something to lose".

Tigress listened intently, her face was stoic but her heart was raging with hurt. He continued "The _only _reason I haven't cracked up is because I have you, I'm lucky. Without you my life has no meaning but when you go to sleep I train.

"I go into the Training Hall and put everything, _everything_ I have into it. I need to be stronger so I won't ever have to lose you, I saw what happened to you when I came back. I know I'm not as strong as you, I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you".

She went to comfort him but Po pulled away. He looked at his reflection in the Moon Pool again.

"What if I create the enemies we fight Tigress?" Po admonished, "Tai Lung attacked the Valley because I became the Dragon Warrior, Shen killed my entire family...maybe my entire race! Because of a prophecy that revolved around me, my future self _is _me and Liu was created because of my selfishness".

Tigress's heart broke at Po's guilt. She pulled him away from his own reflection, kissed him on the lips to calm him down and to show just how much she loved him

When they pulled apart she caressed his cheek with her paw lovingly. "Po" she said softly. "The happiness that you've brought me, Shifu and the rest of the Five far outweighs any evil you think you've created."

"Tai Lung wasn't your fault, it was always going to come down between him and whoever became the Dragon Warrior. Shen was a coward who tried to change his fate and what happened to Liu wasn't your fault, the person who I know you will never become did it".

Po beamed at her, "Thanks Tigress. You know you're my rock right?". She nodded "Always".

They turned and saw Shifu and Mr Ping staring at them, Mr Ping was comically crying and Shifu was looking sternly at Po, clearly being reminded of his failure with Tai Lung had stung him slightly.

Po chuckled nervously "H-how much of that did you hear?". Mr Ping ran over and hugged Po, "Oh Po, why didn't you say anything? You know I would've helped you if I knew you felt this way".

Shifu walked over to them, "I have to agree with your father Po, carrying a burden like this around with you will only weigh you down. You shouldn't feel so ashamed of showing what you consider weakness, it shows bravery to come forward and tell your friends this". Shifu was clearly hurt that Po felt he couldn't confide in him.

"I'm sorry Dad and Shifu" Po looked ashamed of himself for the second time. Shifu smiled at him, "It's fine Po but let us help you".

Mr Ping stopped hugging Po and nodded in agreement.

"I have a recipe for some herbal tea that is supposed to make you sleep easier, we could try that if you wanted to" suggested Mr Ping. Po nodded.

"That sounds good Mr Ping, we will also meditate together Po so I can help you clear your head, if you have another attack or you need to talk through your nightmares then come and see either me, Tigress or your father", said Master Shifu.

Po nodded and smiled at the show of support from his master and father.

"Ok then Po, we'll leave you here with Tigress so you can recover a bit. When the other five return hopefully with Liu then we can talk about what to do next", said Shifu.

Shifu and Mr Ping left Tigress and Po in the hall alone, Tigress ran a claw up Po's shoulder which made him shudder in delight. She had wanted to do this for a long time, she knew Po needed her love more then ever now.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this Po but I have another way we can take your mind off of it" she breathed in his ear. Po blushed heavily and chuckled nervously.

Tigress grabbed his paw and led him into the barracks, he had completely frozen because of his unfamiliarity with this kind of situation and because he never thought Tigress would be the one to instigate this.

"A-are you sure you want to do this Tigress? I m-mean it seems a bit sudden". Tigress licked his cheek, "Po, are you honestly telling me that you've never thought of this? Because I have and I know you need this right now".

Po's heart skipped a beat, when she looked into his eyes. The door to Tigress's room closed behind them, before they started Po had one more thought.

_"I swear to god if this is just a dream then I want to never wake up"_

**To be honest I think this chapter is one of the strongest things I've ever written, if you agree please review.**

**I will never show any kind of sex in any of my stories, purely because at the end of the day it's two animals, regardless of how human their personalities are I would never feel comfortable writing a scene in which two anthropomorphic animals make love. It's in the story because it fits thematically and I'm going to revisit it later on. I don't mean that I detest people writing about it because that isn't true, I just personally wouldn't feel comfortable writing it.**

**On today's Kung Fu Panda Month entry we watch the first DVD short Secrets of the Furious Five. This was made to show off the back story of our favorite hardcore warrior Master Tigress...and the other four. Overall it's very enjoyable and teaches you the five creeds of Kung Fu. Courage, Patience, Compassion, Discipline and Confidence. If you want to watch it details are on my profile.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 7- Failure of the Five**

_In the Valley of Peace_

Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey slowly made their way up towards the palace, their faces told stories of their shame and disappointment at not being able to catch a suit of armor. It hurt them more to think he had outsmarted them somehow.

"Ok before we get up to Shifu, who's going to tell him that we failed?" asked Monkey. Everyone was silent, nobody wanted to nominate someone for fear of looking like a traitor.

"I think we should all tell him, you know to share the guilt" suggested Viper, always the sensible one.

The guys nodded and continued up.

Upon reaching the Hall of Heroes a wave of dread spread throughout the master. Even though Shifu had become much more mellow since Po had arrived, it was still hard for any of the master especially Tigress to admit defeat.

Monkey and Mantis went in first, Crane sighed and went to follow them but was stopped by Viper. She kissed him on the cheek, "I'm sure it'll be fine Crane, remember no matter what happens we still have each other".

Crane smiled reassured.

Shifu was standing by Master Oogway's tapestry, presumably asking him for guidance beyond the grave. He turned around when he heard the Five approaching him, noticing their glum faces he became worried.

"Has something awful happened?" he asked.

Mantis gulped, "Liu...uhhh, got away". Shifu sighed, "That's a shame, I'm sure there will be more opportunities, the one good thing about this is that we know he won't hurt anyone innocent because he's targeting Po".

Remembering Liu's threat Monkey spoke up, "Master before he escaped Liu left us with a message".

"Speak it then".

"I will give you three days to evacuate the valley and prepare yourselves for my return, I will be bringing my wolves with me and there will be no mercy. If the Dragon Warrior is alone and accepts his fate with dignity then I shall leave and never return".

Shifu stroked his beard, "Well he's not going to leave and never return".

"What makes you say that Master?" asked Crane.

Shifu chuckled "Because Po doesn't accept anything with dignity". He became serious, "Ok, we have three day to prepare which we are going to use by emptying the village of people and escorting them someplace safe, this should only take us a day. The rest of the time we will dedicate to training, you never know when this last minute training could come in handy".

Viper suddenly remembered how they had left Po, "Master is Po Ok? He was in a really bad shape when we left him".

Shifu nodded, "Myself, Mr Ping and Tigress have talked it over with him, it is his decision whether he wished to tell you why he was acting the way he did. He is currently with Tigress in the barracks, however I would advise not disturbing them right now, they are having...a talk".

The Five sighed with relief, "I'm glad to hear that, with Po and Tigress we stand a better chance against this guy and his army" said Crane.

"You all get some rest for tomorrow we start with the evacuation" ordered Shifu.

The five all left Shifu alone with his thoughts.

He looked back towards Oogway's tapestry. _"Master, I feel an ominous wind in the air. I think something bad is going to happen"_.

Shifu waited a while before deciding to get some nourishment before bed.

XXXXXXX

_Outside the Valley of Peace_

Liu took great strides up to the top of the hill, when he reached it he gazed upon the view. _"Wow, this is incredible. I've never seen it in the sunset"_. He was standing above a deep canyon, a large base was in the center of it. This was where he had initially encountered the wolves and became their leader.

_7 Days Ago_

_Liu walked into the inn, an awkward silence fell over the patrons, they were mostly wolves and other kinds of predatory creatures. _

_"Who here in this room want's to work with me?" Liu yelled into the silence, laughter erupted from the animals at the ludicrousness of the request._

_A huge wolf who had been sitting quietly at the bar stood up and walked threateningly over to Liu, he was clearly the leader of this gang indicated from both his smugness and the many battle scars which littered his face and exposed arms. "You've got some nerve walking in here and saying that maggot" he snarled._

_"Judging by the smell and ugliness I guess you're the leader", Liu couldn't really smell so he was just trying to bait the wolf into attacking recklessly._

_"You got that right freak, nobody and I do mean nobody can just walk into my hideout and try to recruit my wolves". The huge wolf was sizing Liu up by insulting him, if he was baited by the insults then the wolf would know Liu was reckless and had a temper. Unfortunately Liu knew of this technique so he ignored him._

_"What's your name pup, I like to know a man's name before I put them in the ground", Liu said arrogantly. The wolf grabbed a sword from a nearby gang member and brandished it towards Liu._

_"My name is Li Xiu Ying and it's the last name you're ever gonna hear!", the wolf yelled. Before the wolf took a swing Liu had stabbed him through the heart with a small blade that had seemingly appeared from nowhere._

_Li Xiu Ying coughed blood onto Liu's chest plate and slumped over dead. There was a terrified silence that befell the wolves, "So, anyone else want to try something?" Liu said cockily._

_The silence continued, Liu stood up on a table. The wolves that were sitting at it moved away out of fear."I'm going to kill the Dragon Warrior and you're going to help me. Is that clear?"._

_A lynx stood up, "Why should we listen to you?". Liu hopped off of the table and walked slowly over to the lynx who looked less and less confident with each step he took. _

_"Well one reason is that rather large corpse that's laying behind me, the next reason is because with the Dragon Warrior gone you will be able to do whatever you want and the final reason", Liu grabbed the lynx and snapped his neck._

_"I'll kill you if you don't" he said simply. _

_A murmur of agreement and unity spread throughout the bar, "That sounds fair enough" said an alligator. _

_"Good, Ok the first order of duty. Wolves, take this" he kicked the corpse of Li Xiu Ying, "Outside and bury him in the dankest part of the Valley you can find, I want nobody to find him ever and if in a hundred years his body is discovered I want nobody to recognize him. His legacy will be in tatters because he dared to question me"._

_"Let's get started"_

_The Present_

The evening was just beginning so the scenery had a pinkish hue to it

Liu finally reached the inn, he opened it like he did the first time and was again greeted with the same silence. This time however it wasn't an awkward silence, it was to show the wolves admiration and respect.

Suddenly a huge cheer erupted from the wolves again a parallel to their earlier laughter. Liu was bombarded with questions like, "How did you escape the masters?", "Did you kill the Dragon Warrior?" and "Will you sign my face?".

He pushed his way through the sudden mob and climbed onto the bar. He raised his hand for silence, his request was met.

"Friends, it's good to be back. Because I'm in a good mood I'll tell you what happened. I let the masters capture me so I could assess their abilities and fighting tactics. Let me tell you this my soldiers. We can win!".

The wolves cheered at this revelation, Liu chuckled to himself among the uproar. He signaled for silence again, "We will attack them in three days, we will show no mercy, any master you see you kill. However if you see any fat cowardly pandas, you leave them to me, is that understood?".

The wolves from their previous experiences knew not to question his decision, they decided to just be glad that they would soon be rid of the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five.

Liu jumped off of the bar and made his way upstairs to the room he had taken when he first came here. He opened the door which creaked, as did the floor with every step.

Liu suddenly felt a sharp wave of pain shoot through his torso, he ran to his mirror and looked into it. He gasped when he saw what was happening to his body.

There was a crack in his armor.

Liu's body was dying.

**In Kung Fu Panda month we begin the Legends of Awesomeness episodes and suffice to say prepare for the mediocrity. Get ready for shoddy writing, plot holes galore and some of the worst/laziest characterizations I've ever seen in a cartoon. If you want us to commentate over any particular episode leave us a comment or PM and we'll get to it one day...maybe. For more details check my profile.**


	9. Authors Note

**Okay a quick authors note to explain why there hasn't been a chapter in a few days.**

**I'm exhausted from staying up late doing this stuff (I'm not complaining, I love it, but it tires me out to do sometimes)**

**I'm really busy at the moment in college. I have to write a screenplay for film studies (I've just used the plot to 'Comfort' but I've obviously changed the characters). I have to create a short film in Media (The team I have are a bunch of morons so I have to carry the stable). Finally in Music I have to recreate two songs, 'Madness' by Muse (Which after listening to it about 700 times I've gotten really sick of it) and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' by The Beatles.**

**I'm also spending a lot of time with my girlfriend at the moment (Y'know Christmas holidays and all that...also she won't leave me alone).**

**I should be able to have a chapter ready by at least Friday, but if not now you know why**


	10. Chapter 8

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 8- Day One- 72 Hours Remain**

**Sorry this was a bit later then I said it would be but...that's life**

Po sighed happily, he didn't want to spoil this moment by opening his eyes. Tigress was in his arms, Liu had most likely been taken down by his friends and he hadn't had any night terrors when he had been asleep.

_"I wonder if it's because I talked to Shifu, Tigress and Dad yesterday? Or maybe because of...well...what me and Tigress did"_ Po pondered, he sighed dreamily when he remembered the night before.

It was as amazing as he'd thought it'd be. Po felt a purr on his neck, he opened his eyes and saw Tigress staring up at him. "Good morning Po" she said softly.

"Good morning Master Tigress" Po replied.

Tigress blushed when she realized that she was in her birth suit as was the panda, she smirked and looked at Po when she remembered the previous nights events.

"Did w-". Po cut her off "Yep, we did", the male part of him was acting smug.

Tigress giggled at how much pride he was showing, "Did you have any nightmares or visions Po?", she didn't want to spoil the mood by bringing them up but she had to ask him if he had any hope of eventually getting rid of them completely.

He shook his head, "Nope, I had a great nights sleep for once. I forgot how good it feels". He kissed Tigress on the forehead, "Thank you".

"No thank _you _Po" Tigress whispered in his ear. Po chuckled nervously, the look Tigress was getting in her eye was alien to Po...until yesterday. It was the look of desire.

He closed the gap between them.

XXXXXXX

Shifu was standing up at the Sacred Peach Tree, he hadn't slept and had been trying to contact Oogway to see whether he could get any guidance. To contact Oogway Shifu had been meditating and searching his soul for any way to find the old turtle.

He had only recently given up after he felt the morning sun come up, he was now waiting for the gong which would signal to his students that they should prepare for the days events.

As if on cue he heard it, he took a look down towards the village in the distance and knew today would be difficult.

XXXXXXXX

When Shifu arrived at the barracks all of his students were waiting outside of their rooms standing to attention.

He didn't notice Tigress however, he looked at Po who immediately looked uncomfortable. "Po, do you know where Tigress is?", Po chuckled nervously "Uhh...no, why would I?"

Shifu raised an eyebrow, "Because you were the last person to see her yesterday". He was about to continue questioning Po but Tigress opened the door to her room. She gasped when she saw everyone staring at her, she looked flustered like she had gotten dressed in a hurry.

She bowed to Shifu, "I apologize for getting up late Master Shifu". Shifu waved his hand to signal that she could be at ease.

"It's fine Tigress, we just can't be too careful especially with what we learned yesterday. Which I will need to bring you and Po up to speed on". He looked towards the Five, "The rest of you start evacuating the villagers out towards Paibi, it isn't too far from here, after you've finished that come back here for your next order".

Po gasped _"Why are they moving the Villagers? Has something bad happened"_. Across from him Tigress was having a similar thought, _"I have a bad feeling about this, the last time we had to do this Tai Lung was invading the Valley. He was like a force of nature so this must be serious"_.

The five nodded and set off to begin their task.

Po took his place next to Tigress sheepishly, _"That was a close one, she barely got into her room before everyone came out!"._

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Shifu coughing into his hand. "Now as for you two, let us go to the kitchen so we can discuss what Liu told the Five".

He began to walk off into the kitchen, Po and Tigress shared a troubled glance before following Shifu in.

Shifu took a seat and groaned, _"I'm really getting old, I'm actually starting to feel tiredness from not sleeping"_, Po and Tigress predictably sat next to each other.

"Ok, the five cornered Liu in some alleys yesterday. They conversed for a while before he managed to escape them, before he left he gave them a warning to deliver to the rest of us". Po and Tigress looked at each other worriedly. "What was it?" Po asked anxiously.

Shifu frowned "I'm getting to that panda!". Shifu coughed again "We have three days until Liu attacks the Valley with all of his wolf army, that is why the Five are currently evacuating the Valley".

Po slammed his fist onto the table. "Damn him! I don't understand what I did to him in the future to make him want to hurt innocent people just to get to me". Tigress held his paw, Shifu stroked his beard thoughtfully.

_"Liu might of told me and Master Crane his origin, just in case it isn't true...and because Po might not want to hear why. I won't tell him yet, it can wait for the moment"._

Po suddenly had a thought, "Master Shifu". Shifu jolted out of his thoughts and grunted irritably at being caught off guard by Po, "Yes Po what is it?" he asked calmly.

"Would we be able to bring my father up into the palace? I would just feel more reassured of his safety if he was close to us all". Shifu thought for a moment before nodding, "Just remember Po, he's stayed here before with us and he was unbearable".

Po smirked guiltily recalling the events from months ago. He nodded "I understand Shifu".

Po went to stand up but Shifu held up a paw to stop him, "Wait Po, I must discuss something with you before you retrieve Mr Ping". He looked towards Tigress, "Actually, Tigress, would you mind getting Mr Ping for Po instead. Get him to bring anything he wishes to spare from the battle up to the palace, escort him up here and then come back so we can discuss how to repel our enemy".

Tigress nodded, she hugged Po. "See you later Po".

"Bye Tigress" he replied. She crouched down on all fours and bounded out of the kitchen.

He turned back to Shifu, "So...What's up Shifu?". Po had an idea of what the problem might be, _"Oh no! He knows, Shifu must of noticed that Tigress was late and that she looked flustered. Never mind Liu, I think Shifu might kill me"_. He put on a brave front but inside he was quaking with fear, it was an enemy he never thought he'd have to face. The concerned parent!

Shifu chuckled, "Indeed Po, I do know what you and Tigress really did yesterday". Po let out a small high pitched squeak of fright, "Y...you do?. He tried to keep the fear out of his voice...he failed...miserably.

Shifu nodded, Po dived on the floor and bowed comically to him. Shifu's eyes widened in surprise at Po's overreaction.

"I'm sorry Shifu it just happened, don't kill me please" he pleaded.

Shifu laughed, "Don't be silly Po, I can see how happy you make each other". His face became serious, "Did it help you with your...problem?". Po sat up and nodded, Shifu smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that Po, with you back we have a better chance of winning this". On the inside Po was cheering, he had escaped a beating! But his hope broke when he saw that Shifu wasn't finished. The old red panda got up out of his chair and began to pace in front of Po who was still on the ground.

"Now then Po, we are going to set some ground rules down for yours and Tigress's relationship, we should of done this before really but seeing how you've reached this vital point it might be best if we just do this now".

Shifu held one finger up.

"Number one- this will not interfere with either training or missions".

He held a second finger up.

"Number two- any...consequences you get from this you are both to deal with maturely". Po blushed at the implication that Shifu was making.

Shifu held up a third finger.

"And finally- Po, you will take care of Tigress and be attentive to her every need. If you don't you will have me to deal with".

Po gulped nervously, _"I wonder why he chose now to tell me this?"_. Shifu coughed into his hand yet again to snap Po out of his thought process.

"You will inform Tigress of these conditions when you see her later on, am I understood Po?". Po nodded sheepishly.

"Good, now Po I want you to gather as many artifacts from the Hall of Heroes which we can use as weapons against Liu and his wolf army" Shifu ordered.

Po nodded again, stood up and made his way to the Hall of Heroes to begin his task.

XXXXXXX

Tigress landed at the bottom of the Thousand Steps and glanced around at the village...empty and there wasn't a sound in the air.

She frowned, _"It's unusual to hear this level of silence in the village, the silence is almost deafening in it's implication"._

She made her way to Mr Ping's noodle shop to get him, upon reaching the noodle shop she saw that it as well was also abandoned.

Because of her past interactions with Mr Ping Tigress didn't feel shy at all about simply walking into the shop, hopefully this time there wouldn't be any close encounters with a meat cleaver or any other kind of sharp object.

"Mr Ping" she called out, "It's Tigress, Po asked me to come and escort you to the Jade Palace for protection". She heard a voice come from upstairs, "Hello Tigress, come upstairs I'm just getting packed".

She made her way into Mr Ping's room, it brought back memories of a very stressful day. When she and Po had come here after they had fought, Mr Ping had fainted and they all had a very emotional reunion.

She pushed the door open and saw that Mr Ping was indeed packing a very large suitcase. _"Great, of course I'm the one who's going to carrying that"_, grumbled Tigress internally. She almost chuckled at her out of character reaction to it, _"I've changed, this is Po's fault, he's made me soft"_ Tigress thought bemusedly.

Mr Ping glanced up and beamed at the Tiger master standing in his doorway, he walked over to Tigress and hugged her leg. "It's good to see you Tigress, I know about the evacuation I saw the rest of the Jade Palace masters evacuating everyone and Crane told me to wait here for Po to come and get me. So I decided to start packing".

Tigress nodded and grabbed the admittedly heavy suitcase, she dragged it out of the restaurant towards the Thousand Steps. Mr Ping had some trouble keeping up with her even though she was carrying it.

About halfway up the staircase Mr Ping decided to ask Tigress what he had wanted to know since she had come to the noodle shop.

Mr Ping frowned from concern, "Tigress, will this be another dangerous fight for Po?". She stopped briefly and nodded gravely, "Indeed, as you've seen this...creature", Tigress didn't really have a better word for him. "Wishes nothing but Po's destruction". Her anger grew at the thought of Po being hurt by Liu.

"I see", said Mr Ping. _"There must be something I can do to help Po? I can't lose him again and judging by that look on her face neither can Tigress"_. They started up towards the Jade Palace again. The rest of the trip was silent.

XXXXXX

Po wiped his brow to remove it of sweat, it hadn't taken him long but it had still been hard work getting all of the items that Shifu had asked him to grab together. He had gotten.

The Crossbow of All-Knowing, Golden Shield (Which after a few hours Zeng had managed to wedge it out of a pillar after the fight with Tai Lung), Golden Spear, Invisible Trident of Destiny (Which Po had some trouble finding...and he'd lost it again in the pile of weapons), Iron Fist of Justice and Lady Wind Song's fan.

Po didn't know if any of these would useful, he had just got the ones that he thought would cause the most damage.

He smiled when the doors opened to reveal Tigress and his father, he ran over to the two of them and hugged them both.

"Any problems?" he asked while pulling out of the hug, he knew because Tigress had gone in his place there realistically wouldn't be, but it was in his nature to be curious.

She shook her head, "No none at all", she looked behind Po at all of the precious, ancient Kung Fu artifacts that he had just dumped onto the floor.

"Po, what are you doing with those?", Tigress inquired.

"Shifu told me to gather as many useful artifacts as I could" replied Po. He took the suitcase off of Tigress, "I'll be right back, I just need to show Dad his room".

XXXXXXX

Po and Mr Ping eventually reached the barracks, they stopped outside Po's room. "Here you do Dad, you can have my room".

Mr Ping looked around the hallway, "But Po, where will you sleep?". Po waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's fine Dad, I'll just sleep in there" he jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Tigress's room.

Mr Ping smirked knowingly, "Isn't that Tigress's room?".

Po blushed, "Well yeah but, it's fine Dad I have Shifu's permission".

Mr Ping chuckled and nodded, "It's fine Po, I know you wouldn't just betray his trust like that". Po dropped Mr Ping's suitcase in the room, "Thank you Po, go and help Shifu. I can deal with the rest by myself".

Po hugged his father, "It's cool that you're living with us all again Dad, have...have you fixed your snoring problem?".

Mr Ping nodded, he reached into his now open case and pulled out six pairs of earplugs. "This'll do I guess, although this is kind of just avoiding the problem instead of trying to solve it", said Po.

"Speaking of problems, did you make any progress with yours?" asked Mr Ping. Po nodded "I did, thanks to you, Shifu and Tigress.

He left to go and find Shifu.

Mr Ping shook his head bemusedly, "Ah, to be young and in love".

XXXXXXX

_"I should of asked Shifu were to find him earlier"_, Po thought irritably. As he was making his way up to the Sacred Peach Tree. When he was at the top, he saw Shifu staring out into the horizon almost mournfully.

"Hello Po, did you make your father feel at home?", asked Shifu. Po shifted uncomfortably, "I hate it when you do that". Shifu smiled innocently, "Do what?".

"Y'know, just automatically know I'm there even though I try and be as quiet as possible".

Shifu decided to change the subject before Po became distracted.

"Answer the question Po". Po stopped mid-rambling, "Uhhh, yeah I did Dad is staying in my room".

Shifu nodded "Good, okay the Five should almost be finished and may be returning soon, we should all convene in the kitchen to discuss how we are going to defend our home".

XXXXXXX

Shifu, Po, Tigress and the rest of the Furious Five were all sitting around the table in the kitchen, Po had asked his father to stay in his room until he came to get him, he didn't want Mr Ping to listen to their discussion about how they would try and survive the battle that was coming ever closer.

"Ok then it's decided" concluded Shifu, "We will set up three lines of defense. The first shall be in the village itself with two of us going there, in the event that these two fail the second line will take position on the Thousand Steps, this team will have a natural advantage because of the higher ground. Finally the remaining three will be in the Jade Palace, any questions?".

Mantis raised his 'thingy', Shifu nodded to show Mantis he could speak. "How are two of us gonna stand a chance against an army?".

Po answered this, "We can share out the artifacts in the Hall of Heroes, they might just give us the edge".

"We should divide those up between us now", said Crane.

"I agree" said Tigress.

"Because we only have five that can be used as weapons two of use will have to go without", said Shifu. Po bit his lip for a second, "Well, I don't mind not having one, I've never really felt comfortable with a weapon anyway".

Viper smirked sheepishly, "Actually, I'm going to have to opt out of using one as well considering...y'know the lack of hands".

Shifu looked at the ray of light that was making it's way through the window. "We have a few hours of daylight left, we should use it to train ourselves. We can decide definitively tomorrow who will wield what".

A murmur of agreement spread throughout the room which was followed by the moving of chairs as they left to train.

XXXXXXX

_A few hours later_

"Man, Shifu really worked us hard today", moaned Po who was trying to get rid of the cramp in his right arm. He was currently in Tigress's room with his beloved, they had come here immediately after training.

Tigress nodded "Indeed". She was feeling the results of their hard work as well but she was much better at hiding it. After he was finished stretching he climbed into bed with Tigress, the atmosphere was slightly tense as the last time they were in this room together they had become one, needless they weren't ashamed of what they did it was more because both Po and Tigress wanted more but didn't want to say in the slight fear of seeming vain to the other.

Tigress decided to try and strike up a conversation with a question that had been plaguing her mind for some time.

"What did Master Shifu want to talk to you about this morning Po?", she was of course referring to the conversation that Po and Shifu had in the kitchen in the morning

Po bit his lip, he was slightly apprehensive about discussing it because the idea that Shifu knew of their...activities could mortify her. _"I should tell Tigress what me and Shifu talked about earlier, just to see what her reaction will be", _he resolved.

Po nodded, "Ok I'll tell it the way Shifu told it".

Po held one finger up.

"Number one- this will not interfere with either training or missions".

He held a second finger up.

"Number two- any...consequences you get from this you are both to deal with maturely". Tigress blushed at the implication that Shifu had made

Po held up a third finger.

"And finally- Po, you will take care of Tigress and be attentive to her every need. If you don't you will have me to deal with".

Tigress gasped at Shifu's level of care for her well being. she never thought he had cared enough about her to threaten her boyfriend with harm if he didn't look after her.

Po shifted closer to her and she quickly found the embrace of sleep over take her.

XXXXXX

It was now night time and there was lots of noise coming from the tavern that the wolves had made their base of operations.

Liu was sat cross legged in his room, he didn't want to exert himself at all after the discovery that his body was falling apart.

A wolf slowly and carefully pushed open his door, he breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw his master sitting calmly onto the floor.

He approached Liu and when he had gotten close enough bowed in respect.

"What is it?" Liu growled, the wolf flinched but didn't move. "Some of the men are growing bored by the inactivity, they are even talking about attacking prematurely and taking the master by surprise".

Liu sighed irritably, "Anything _else_?". The wolf fidgeted nervously, "Well sir...there was one more thing". "Spit it out!" Liu yelled.

"The wolves were wondering if you would explain how you ended up that body sir?". Liu was still for a second before he stood up and slowly made his way over to the young wolf.

XXXXXX

The wolves were loudly drinking and playing mahjong to pass the time until they were to attack the Valley. Suddenly a body fell onto one of the tables.

The wolves at this table gasped and looked up to where it had fallen from. Liu was standing over the balcony looking coldly down at them.

"For those of you who were inquiring about me. If I have a past I would prefer it to be multiple choice!" He yelled.

He swung around and strode back up to his room to continue meditating.

**Yep we're gonna go through every day like this. Okay time for my first attempt at audience interactivity. You, that's right you can decide what master will be equipped with what. The only rules are that Po and Viper are not included in this for story reasons and the Invisible Trident of Destiny isn't included because it's ...well...invisible. I look forward to the response.**

**Meanwhile on the Kung Fu Panda Marathon we've reached our second of the LOA episodes, this time it's A Tigress Tale. Check out my profile for more details if you're interested. We've also finally reached the Kung Fu Panda 2 commentary, needless to say it's one of my favorite films ever made. If you want to hear my thoughts on this film then go to the channel and watch the commentary...and yes I did actually cry at the end...don't judge me.**

**Actually one more thing, A Better World? has now reached over 10,000 views. Thank you all so much for reading that story, I never thought for a second it would reach this.**


	11. Chapter 9

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 9- Day Two- 48 Hours Remain**

**Seeing as my it's my birthday you can have this as a present **

The day started the same way as yesterday with Po waking up to the sight of Tigress in his arms and the feeling of warmth at the suns rays shining in through the window and onto his face.

Tigress woke up, "Good morning panda". Po smiled at her use of the name that she and Shifu had given him when he first arrived all those years ago. "Morning Tigress, don't worry about trying to make it look like you didn't stay here through the night Shi-". She shushed him, "I know Po, you said yesterday".

She gasped and her paw went to her stomach, "Are you alright Tigress?" asked Po, he held his paw out to her. He was concerned because he had never seen Tigress get sick before, she was too hardcore for that.

She pushed away his outstretched paw, "I'm fine Po, it's probably just stomach cramp or something, I'm sure it will go away after we've started training".

Po relaxed then groaned and laid back down, he was still sore from the previous days training. The thought of sparring yet again with Tigress wasn't too appealing, she would after all wipe the floor with him all the time.

They started to wait in silence for the gong to ring, after a while they realized that because they, Shifu, Mr Ping and the rest of the Furious Five were the only people who were still left in the Valley of Peace that meant they would have to get up their selves and hope that they weren't late for training. Shifu probably wouldn't take the lack of a gong as an excuse for tardiness.

With a groan Po stumbled up, he turned to Tigress and held his hand out to her, she grabbed it and hoisted herself up. Tigress's stomach was still sore so was grateful for the assistance.

Po pulled Tigress into a hug, "What's this in aid of?" she asked pleasantly surprised. He hummed into her neck, to Tigress it felt like purring and tickled her heck. "Nothing really just for being perfect really", she smiled.

They just stood in the embrace for a couple of seconds, she knew why Po was really hugging her. They had two days until the possibility of death, the weight of it was starting to affect him and make him worried about Tigress and the rest of his friend and family, not that it didn't get her as well Tigress was just as glad for the close contact and for the moment of intimacy between them.

With a heavy heart and a sigh she pulled away, Po looked sadly at her. "Let's go see how your father is, then we should find Shifu and the other". Po nodded sadly, she cupped his chin with her paw, "Don't look so glum Po, remember today you get to watch me pick a cool weapon, will it cheer you up if you pick for me?". A sparkle come into Po's eye, it only found it's way there when he witnessed something or awesome, it just got his inner fan boy going.

A grin quickly found it's way onto Po's face, "Nothing would make me happier".

Still holding Tigress's hand Po opened the door and left to see how Mr Ping was.

XXXXXXX

Mr Ping was stirring in his sleep. He was having a horrible nightmare.

_In the dreamscape_

_Both the noodle shop and the village had been destroyed in the battle. Mr Ping looked sadly upon his environment, he had lived in both the Valley and the Village for years. It broke his heart to see it destroyed by a madman._

_He put a wing to his beak, "Po! Son, where are you?". There wasn't a response, Mr Ping wandered around the rubble for a while before stumbling upon the corpses of Shifu and the Five, surrounding their remains were many wolves and other predatory creatures, this was Liu's army and they looked like a dangerous gang who hadn't been prepared for the bloodshed that their new leader had sent them into. Mr Ping put a wing over his beak and wept at the sight of his friends bodies, by the looks of it their attackers hadn't been merciful and judging by the surrounding area the battle had been fierce._

_Mr Ping felt ashamed admitting it but he was glad that he couldn't see either Tigress or Po among the destruction and death. The old goose carefully and slowly managed to pick himself up off the ground and continue looking for his son._

_His ears pricked up at the sound of a distant battle, he ran towards it and saw both Tigress and Po fighting desperately against a living suit of armor, Po had a scar across his face and a long cut across his chest. Tigress didn't look too much better with a stab wound in her left leg and various cuts across her face and arms._

_Liu's body had many cracks in it, out of these cracks poured a thick purple texture that almost looked like his blood. The battle was equal but the combatants seemed to be growing weary, they must have been fighting for hours._

_"Die panda!" shouted Liu, he threw a knife that he picked up off of a nearby wolf's corpse. It embedded itself in Po's shoulder, the Dragon Warrior yelped in pain and knelt to the floor. Tigress immediately leapt to his defense but was swiftly grabbed by Liu, he had her aloft by her neck. Liu started to squeeze brutally crushing her windpipe. _

_Tigress tried to yell out by the lack of oxygen saw to it that she wouldn't. Po started to cry at his inability to do anything to help his love, the exhaustion, many wounds and the knife now expertly stuck into his shoulder blade made sure he was only able to watch as his beloved was killed in front of him. Tigress looked at Po desperately with tear stained eyes before they rolled back into her skull and she passed away in fear and pain._

_Po crawled over to the now deceased tiger and cradled her head in his arms weeping silently. He stopped when he heard Liu walking towards him, Mr Ping felt a shiver of fear go through him at the hateful look that Po shot towards the armor, he had never seen Po so angry and he didn't know how or why Liu didn't run away. Liu ripped the blade out of Po's shoulder, the panda didn't struggle or show any signs that it had hurt him, perhaps losing so much had finally become devoid of any tears with which to cry._

_The armor cackled before raising the blade above his head, he aimed his swing towards Po's head. Po looked down at Tigress and kissed her cold lips gently before staring straight back at Liu, without flinching he took the blade in the head._

XXXXXXXXX

Mr Ping was suddenly shaken awake by a large soft hand, the old goose opened his eyes and saw two pairs of eyes staring back at him, Both soft jade and once stoic amber showed concern in them, they had obviously seen that he had been in the middle of an unpleasant dream or nightmare.

"Hey Dad are you OK? You were tossing around in your sleep. were you having a nightmare or something?" asked Po. Mr Ping looked both Po and Tigress in the eye, "Yeah, it was about noodles. It's nothing to worry about Po", Mr Ping smiled to reassure his son.

Po bought it and sighed with relief, Tigress however looked at Mr Ping knowingly. _"If he wants to share what it was he knows he can talk to me about it, there's no point forcing him to talk about it. Besides we don't need Po worrying about it at the moment". _

"OK Dad, we're going to go and find Shifu and the others. Will you be OK making breakfast for us all in the kitchen?" Po asked, as if on cue the giant panda's stomach began to rumble from hunger. Tigress smirked and shook her head in amusement. Mr Ping nodded, "Of course Po", he hopped out of Po's bed. "Have fun in training today you two" and with that Mr Ping abruptly left.

Po turned to Tigress and smiled, "This is the greatest, I've got you and now Dad's gonna make us some Secret Ingredient Soup later on, oh boy!". Tigress smiled at his excitement overcoming the fear and dread he had felt earlier when the two of them were alone in Tigress's room.

XXXXX

Po and Tigress entered the Hall of Heroes and immediately saw Shifu and the Five gathered around the pile of weapons Po had gathered yesterday while in a deep discussion.

When they got close the conversation stopped and Shifu addressed them, "Ah nice of you to join us you two, we were just about to begin selecting who would take what weapon". Po smirked guiltily, "Sorry we're late Shifu I was just waking my Dad up". Shifu waved his hand, "It's fine Po let's just begin".

Po and Tigress stood side by side next to the red panda.

"Can I pick first?" asked Mantis, he was having trouble keeping the excitement out of his voice.

Mantis was as giddy as a schoolgirl, he had always wanted to use some of these artifacts but Shifu forbade them from being equipped. Shifu reasoning was that they shouldn't have to rely on tools when they had Kung Fu.

Shifu nodded, "I don't see why not, but choose quickly Master Mantis we mustn't waste any time". Mantis jumped over to the selection and immediately went over to the Iron Fist of Justice.

He tried to pick it up but it ended up landing on him, the others sans Shifu chuckled at him. Shifu frowned, "Mantis why did you believe that you could wield that device? It's bigger then your entire form".

Mantis grumbled while kicking the fist off of him, "Ya can't blame a bug for trying" he murmured. Mantis sighed and took the Golden Shield, _"Maybe I can slide it along the floor and take some guys out...or maybe throw it, it's better then nothing at any rate" _ Mantis thought while he sulked and walked disappointingly away.

When he had moved back into the line, Monkey went up first and immediately took the Iron Fist of Justice, he looked back at Mantis to see his reaction. Mantis sighed and tried to not to show any reaction, it would just amuse Monkey if he did.

Shifu nodded to acknowledge Monkey's choice, "Ok, Crane you're up next so make it fast!" Shifu ordered. Crane nodded and quickly went over and picked up the Crossbow of All Knowing, it was obvious that this was the weapon that he had wanted to pick from the very beginning. He grinned at his prize at he walked back towards the group.

Finally there was Tigress, she only had the choice between the Golden Spear and Lady Wind Song's Fan. Tigress stood in front of them and looked back towards Po with a soft smile on her face, the others concluded that this had been agreed between the two of them before coming to the hall.

Po put his paw in his mouth to stop himself making any noises that Shifu or Tigress would deem as annoying. His eyes quickly flitted between the two, in his head he was imagining many awesome, over the top actions that Tigress might possibly do with them, this made the decision even harder for The Dragon Warrior.

Both Tigress and Shifu begin to grow impatient with his inability to choose, Shifu was about to hurry him however he was beaten to the punch by Tigress. "Po, c'mon we don't have all day, we still have to break these weapons in during today's training". Po glanced at her, he gulped dramatically then pointed towards Lady Wind Song's Fan.

Tigress blinked in surprise at him then went over, bent down and picked the fan up. Secretly she was disappointed in Po's choice, some small part of her...a very small part in fact had wanted the Golden Spear as the warrior part of her relished the idea of it's potential.

Upon picking the fan up she marveled at it's beautiful poetry, before a cough from Shifu broke her out of his thoughts. Shifu quickly hobbled over and retrieved the Golden Spear.

He swung it around for a bit before huffing and using it as a temporary makeshift cane. He looked at his students looking admiringly at their choices.

"So, shall we begin?".

XXXXXX

It was now nightfall, the masters had spent the entire day getting used to their respective artifacts feel and power. Po and Viper were used a sparring partners to their horror.

They were all currently sitting around the table in the kitchen eating Mr Ping's food discussing their intense training session. "Hey Po, did you see how I barely missed you with the Crossbow, it's so smooth and fast!" said Crane as he thought back to the time.

Po chuckled nervously, "Yeah it was great". It would be good having this weapon on their side but it would be a long time before you would catch Po being a guinea pig for their use again.

In their excitement nobody noticed that Mr Ping was acting a bit more quietly then usual, he was deep in thought over what the time might possibly mean. It had haunted him and after escaping Po and Tigress this morning he had immediately gone outside and wept at both the horrible images he had seen and because he didn't know whether or not they were a prediction or just a very vivid horrible nightmare.

An idea formed in the goose's head on how to stop the vision from coming to light however and he would wait until Po was helping him after dinner.

XXXXXX

Po and Tigress were both sitting in her room after a very relaxing dinner, they were now enjoying each other's company for a bit before going to hit the hay. The door suddenly burst open and Zeng flew open, Tigress and Po quickly snapped into attack mode, they relaxed when they saw that it was only Zeng delivering a message.

"Master Po! Master Po!" cried Zeng urgently. Po crouched down to him, "What is it Zeng? Has Liu attacked early? He shouldn't of".

Zeng shook his head, "No Master Po, it's your father he wants to see you in the Hall of Heroes right away!". Po frowned and looked at Tigress oddly, "Why would he want to meet me there? It seems a bit odd". He looked at Zeng again, "Did he say why he wanted to speak to me there Zeng?".

The young goose shook his head, "No Master Po, he just said to fetch you and to inform you that the message was urgent". Po nodded slowly, "Thank you Zeng I will go and see him at once". Zeng gasped for air in relief and left in a hurry presumably to go and perform some f his other tasks.

Po nodded and rushed out to see his father. He burst into the Hall of Heroes heroically and saw his Father staring at his reflection in the Moon Pool, his posture was sorrowful as if what he was going to talk about was taken a lot of courage to broach.

The Dragon Warrior approached his father slowly, "Dad what is it?".

Mr Ping turned around and Po's eyes were drawn to what he had in his hands...a knife!

"Dad where did you get that?" Po demanded. Mr Ping remained stony faced.

"He's going to kill you Po, so I want you to take this and kill him first". The sentence was cold and clear, Po had never heard Mr Ping talk in this tone before, there was definitely a reason Mr Ping was feeling this way.

Po gasped at what his Dad was asking him to do, take a life regardless whether it was in cold blood or not just so he could save himself was something he had never ever even considered.

"Dad...I'm sorry but I can't do that, not now not ever! My compassion puts me on a different level to my enemies and I need to keep it that way". Po took a step closer to his Father in the hopes of taking the weapon out of Mr Ping's hands. "Otherwise I'm no better then them".

Mr Ping chewed the inside of his beak, Po's words seemed to strike a small chord with the old goose. "Po answer me honestly, would ending his life stop the threat on yours".

Po took another step, "Obviously it would".

"Then don't you dare, Po, don't you dare put that monster's life before before my feelings, before Tigress's, before all of the people who care about you. Now you take this, that's an order, Po. You take the knife, you take the knife and save yourself. And please don't die, you're the most wonderful son on earth! I don't want you to die!". Mr Ping hugged his son tightly , the wall he had built up throughout the day crumbled and he started to cry on Po.

Po comforted his father before Mr Ping calmed down enough to be able to tell him of his nightmare earlier that day. Po had the appropriate reactions upon hearing of his friends deaths but it was Tigress's death that caused Po's fist to shake. "Dad I promise you that I won't let it come to that, I'm sorry to do this but can we talk about this more tomorrow? We should talk about this as a whole group with Shifu".

Mr Ping nodded in agreement and Po escorted him back to his room. A nervous good bye was shared between the father and son, when Mr Ping was in Po's room Po sighed with relief,

When Po got back to his room he was shaking, the weight of the conversation he had just had finally fell upon him and he laid down on the bed and hugged Tigress tightly. She wasn't actually asleep however and felt Po's distress.

She turned around and faced him, Po gasped and tried to cover his tracks. "Po, tell me what happened". He decided that he couldn't lie to her so he just told Tigress everything that had just happened in the past couple of minutes. She gasped when he told her of Mr Ping's request, she couldn't believe the old goose would ask Po to do something like that, although judging by the intensity of his nightmare and the subtle state they found him in this morning in Mr Ping's mind it might of sounded rational,

Po got more animated during the conversation until Tigress shushed him with a kiss, "Don't panic Po, he's obviously worried about you. I'd do the same thing in his position".

Po shook his head at her confession, "No you wouldn't Tigress you're better then that. I'm just worried that my Dad is going to do something desperate and I don't want him to get hurt". Tigress nuzzled his cheek with her own, "I know you don't Po and with us both protecting him as well as the others and Shifu I', sure he'll be fine...look if you're still worried about it in the morning we can go and talk with him about it then OK?",

Po nodded wordlessly, Tigress smiled and kissed him again, "I know what will make you feel better" she whispered into his ear lovingly. Po shivered in delight and they both pulled in close to each other. Pretty soon the worry had pretty much vanished from Po's mind, they now have only one more day to prepare for Liu's arrival.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile on a mountain far from his base Liu was training fiercely by himself, he stopped and looked up towards the night sky. "You only have one more full day of life left panda make sure you spend it wisely" he said cruelly before going back to continue his intense training.

**Over on the KFP marathon we've moved on to the review of the second films soundtrack. So head over to Middlemencomms if you want to check that out. **


	12. Chapter 10

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 10- Day Three - 24 Hours Remain**

**Merry Christmas one and all! I'll finish this before the end of the month and as a present to you all I'll announce what's coming next in the final chapter.**

Once again the day began as usual but there was something different about it Po noticed. He was lacking a certain source of warmth, he opened his eyes and saw that Tigress wasn't present with him in their bed. He looked puzzled and called out "Tigress!", he didn't consider anyone else so he wasn't quiet. _"I wonder where she went?" _Po speculated.

XXXXXXX

_Outside_

Tigress wiped her mouth of any excess bile, when she had woken up she felt a sudden urge to throw up so she had gotten up as quietly as possible so as not to wake Po (the last thing she needed was him panicking over her well being). She was currently in a small private spot a small way from the barracks, she hadn't come here out of choice it was simply the first place she had found which gave her some sort of privacy. Tigress looked at her paw which was shaking from the effort and feeling of her throwing up.

_"What's happening to me?" _she thought worriedly. Tigress had obviously been sick before but never so sporadically or without any clear reason. She looked out towards the soft glare of the morning sun, _"I'd better get back, Po usually wakes up whenever the sun rises...he's oddly good at that for someone who is usually so lazy"_. With that thought she walked back to the barracks.

XXXXXXX

Po was on his hands and knees looking under the bed when he heard the door open behind him. "Po? What are you doing on the floor?", he breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Tigress's voice. "I was...y'know...looking for you, when I woke up you weren't here and I got worried". Tigress tried to stifle a laugh, "Why were you looking under the bed?".

Po blushed and scratched his arm nervously, "Well...I thought you might of", he gulped, "Fallen...under...there". Tigress burst out laughing, "Why would you possibly think that?".

Po rolled his eyes and folded his arms grumpily, "Well excuse me for caring". Tigress smiled at him, "I was simply relieving myself Po". Po coughed embarrassed, "Well, OK then". Tigress felt bad lying to Po but she decided he had enough to worry about at the moment with Liu that he didn't need to be worrying about her as well, _"This morning's sickness...and my exhaustion, no this couldn't possibly b-!"_.

"You alright Tigress? You sort of spaced out for there for a second" came Po's voice throwing her out of her speculation. She responded with "Huh? Oh umm, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something". Po looked at her oddly for a second before deciding to not probe her any further and go talk to his Dad about the previous night's events.

"Tigress I gotta go talk to Dad" he said hurriedly on his way out, she went to reply but he was already gone. Tigress started to think about her symptoms again but was again cut off by Po, he stuck his head round the corner "Oh I forgot to say, Love you". She smiled at him, "I love you too Po". With that he finally left.

_"I can't tell anyone about this for now, I'll wait until tomorrow evening when we've beaten back the invaders"_. Tigress decided to get some last minute training in to take her mind off of it.

XXXXXX

Po rapped his knuckles softly on the door to his room, it felt odd to him doing this to gain access to his own room but he pushed these feelings aside so as not to get distracted.

"Come in" came Mr Ping's voice, it sounded tired like he hadn't slept which Po thought he should have seen coming considering his father's state of mind yesterday. _"I can't believe I was so selfish, because the conversation scared me I ran away and left Dad alone to face his nightmares through the night, I should know better then anyone how much nightmares can mess you up"_.

Po pushed his door open carefully and slowly, he saw Mr Ping sitting on his bed staring up at him. Po approached nervously, "Dad I'm sorry I just left you like that yesterday it's just that...well...you kinda scared me a bit". Po felt embarrassed admitting out loud, it made him sound like a baby and his pride hated that.

Mr Ping looked surprised at him, "You're scared?", he gently lowered himself off of the bed, "How do you expect me to feel? You constantly put yourself in danger and I worry all the time". Po went to reply but Mr Ping shushed him, "I'm sorry Po for putting you in that kind of position, it was wrong of me to ask you to kill somebody. But please promise me that you will take it". Mr Ping held it out to him, Po looked away out of hesitancy.

Mr Ping frowned, took Po's paw and put it over the blade. "Just take it Po! Even if you have no intention of using it just keep it on you on the off chance that you change your mind", Po sighed and took the blade off of Mr Ping.

Po looked at the short blade that was extending out of Mr Ping's hand, the panda sighed before begrudgingly taking it, he knew he would never use it but it was worth having it on the off chance he actually did need it. Mr Ping smiled thankfully, "Thank you son, I just feel better if you have this". Po smiled, on the inside though he felt wrong, it just didn't suit him at all to use one of these.

The Dragon Warrior decided to tactfully change the subject onto something a bit lighter, "Hey Dad, everyone's up and I was wondering if you could make us all some of your Secret Ingredient Soup. We only have today left and it would really make us feel better". Mr Ping beamed and nodded, it had been a long time since the goose had made it for his son, long since before his counterpart had come at any rate.

Father and Son walked out of the room and made their way to the kitchen, "Hang on a second Dad, you go on ahead I just need to do something real quick". "Ok son, don't take too long you don't want to eat it cold do you?". Po shook his head and waited until his Dad walked around the corner before going into Tigress's room and hiding the blade underneath her bed, it wasn't the safest place to store a weapon but it would have to do for now.

Po stood back up and went to the kitchen.

XXXXXX

Tigress was sat in the kitchen with the others, she had come here immediately after Po had gone to get his father. The others were in here when she had arrived and judging by the look of hunger present on all of their faces they really really wanted Mr Ping to wake up and make them all something to eat. Even Tigress had to admit that their training yesterday had made her quite peckish, it fact she was really craving something to eat.

_"Is...is this what it feels like to be Po, it's...awful, he's obviously got a stronger will then any of us ever_ thought", she thought with a smidgen of pride and amusement towards her lover.

She broke her train of thought when she saw Mr Ping stroll in looking a lot more cheerful then he did yesterday, _"Good work Po! I wonder what he said to snap Mr Ping out of his mood, I shall ask him later"_.

"Good morning Mr Ping, did you sleep well?" asked Shifu. The goose nodded and carried on walking over to the kitchen counter in order to start making the master their breakfast, "To thank you all for your hospitality and kindness I have decided to make my Secret Ingredient Soup for you all both now and later on when you have finished your training". All of the masters immediately perked up at the thought of eating Mr Ping's delicious food.

They were so taken with the idea that they didn't even notice Po walk in, he looked oddly at them all before chuckling and sitting down next to...you guessed it, Tigress. _"So that's what it feels like seeing it from the outside, I used to make a face like that whenever Dad said he was making his soup for me"_.

"This will be the last meal you have until the battle is over, we need to fast so we have nothing slowing us down". Po's heart sank and he felt like crying at the possibility of not eating anything for the next 36 hours at least, everyone chuckled at Po's amateur dramatics. Tigress's stomach also sank but she was better at hiding it, it was an odd feeling for her to actually miss the thought of food.

The next hour was full of hearty conversation which was undercut by the feeling of ominousness. Po and the others reminisced about better more stress free times such as when they were having the Winter Festival. Po hoped that they would reach the next winter festival, it was only a few months away.

Po bit his lip for a second, remembering all of the good times made him realize that in the event of his death he should probably leave something behind _"In case I die here I should write a note for my friends"_. Po stood up abruptly. "Po!, where ya going?" asked Mantis, Po glanced at him and saw everyone staring at him oddly.

Po rubbed his arm nervously, he didn't like lying to his friends. "I'll be right back, I just need to go do something real quick", he strode off out of the room. Tigress frowned at his hasty exit while the others continued their discussion.

XXXXX

Po burst into his room unnecessarily loudly and looked around his room for something to write on, his gaze feel on a scroll half sticking out of the underside of his bed.

He dived at it and found a brush and a small amount of ink sitting next to it. _"That's...convenient"_ he pondered, Po stood up and quickly sat at his desk. _"I'd better hurry, I don't have long until they suspect something"_, he began to write.

_"My name is Po Ping and I am the Dragon Warrior...sigh...a famous warrior once said that we create our own demons...it's only recently I've found out how true that actually is"._

Po recounted the events of the previous days to give some clarity and context to whomever would read it in the future.

_"Who is that? What is that? How do I know this? It doesn't matter. I...well a different version of me had just created demons, he didn't know then that it would come back to bite him...well me. After a long soiree in that universe I thought that Dragon Warrior's reign of terror and influence was over...little did I know then that it was only just beginning". _

Po bit the end of the brush, this was the part he had been dreading, telling his friends, family and love what to do in the event of his death.

He touched the brush to the paper when his doors were suddenly flung open and he broke the brush in shock. He squeaked in fright at the sight of Tigress glaring at him from his doorway.

"How did you know I was here?".

Tigress smirked, "You weren't exactly quiet about it, and you talk out your letters as you write them". Po smirked embarrassingly, "Well...no actually there's nothing I can say to that". Tigress folded her arms, "So...what are you doing there Po?". Po sighed, there wasn't an easy way out of this, Tigress was well known for her tenacity.

He held out the paper to Tigress, she grasped it carefully and began to read it. Po watched as her facial expression shifted as she read, from sadness to shock to pain Tigress went through them all.

When she finished she moved the paper away from her face and looked sadly at Po, "Oh Po, do you really have that little confidence in our victory?". Po nodded wordlessly whilst avoiding Tigress's stern gaze, there was a moment of silence before Po felt the tiger's warm embrace. He moved into it and tried to express his worry and grief through it.

"Po we can win, just have some faith in both yourself and the rest of us. We've beaten Tai Lung who mastered many techniques and was one of Shifu's best pupils, Shen was overcome by you simply believing in yourself. Po you've even conquered yourself, both figuratively and literally, there's no reason why this will be any different you're just worrying needlessly", Tigress spoke these wise words into his ear.

Po felt a wave or relief pass through him, any doubt or insecurity he had felt previously had now vanished upon hearing how self-assured Tigress was, that always settled it for him, hearing how she felt about something.

"Thank you Tigress, I'm just being silly I guess", Tigress nodded, "Indeed you are my love, we have the rest of this day to prepare so wasting what's left of our time by worrying wouldn't be too wise".

They returned to the kitchen to discuss any final preparations that should be made.

XXXXXXX

"Ok, let's go over this one more time" said Shifu. They had talked and talked about who would go where and what kinds of traps that should be laid.

"Monkey and Mantis, you will station yourselves in the Village, I won't lie to you, both of you are only there to take out as many as you can before you are overwhelmed". Shifu felt a sense of despair at the thought of losing students, since Tai Lung he had never wanted to again feel the sorrow of losing them but it had crept up on him when Mantis and Monkey agreed to be the first to fight the wolves knowing full well that it might mean their deaths.

There was a small pause, "Well that sucks" stated Mantis, Shifu allowed himself to show some pride towards the two of them when they refused to back down just to defend their home.

"Viper, Crane and myself will wait at the base of the Steps for them, again we will try to take out as many as we can", said Shifu grimly, Viper glanced at Crane glumly. He smiled to give the snake some comfort, if they were to die at least they would be together.

"That leaves Po and Tigress to mop up any that make it past the five of us". While it looked like Po and Tigress were the lucky ones that couldn't be further from the truth, they got to watch their friends possibly suffer and die while they were safe in the palace.

Shifu looked towards Mr Ping, "Mr Ping I have left Po and Tigress in the palace so you may take refuge with them, they are very powerful so I want them to focus their efforts on protecting you". The goose felt rather guilty at all the trouble that was being made because of him.

"Now then" concluded Shifu, "Before we begin what could be our last training sessions I just want to say how much of an honor it has been being your master". Shifu looked towards Mantis, "Mantis I watched as you turned into a small arrogant child into someone with a personality and heart just as large as anyone else in this room". Mantis smiled, it wasn't a cocky smirk or a patronizing grin, it was one of the only times you would ever see him in pride.

Next was Viper, "Viper you are the most charming, kind, compassionate, and sweetest of us all. It takes a cool head and a warm heart to manage the sometimes conflicting personalities of your comrades but you've proven that physical strength isn't the greatest asset when it comes to being a hero".

Monkey, "Monkey you could of easily have become one of the bandits we fight, but your heart and strength of character was shown to us all by the Great Master Oogway, you know his teachings well, probably better then anyone. You're a fine kung fu master and a true friend to us all".

Crane, "You're are everything that your style embodies, you are natural, graceful and effortless. You're our pragmatist and you're always willing to put your life on the line to protect people".

When Shifu reached Tigress she didn't expect much, she was shocked then when Shifu hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I have never acted fatherly to you Tigress, I just want you to know I have always been proud of you". She beamed at him, Tigress had finally received his respect and admiration after seeking it for so long!.

Finally there was Po. "Po, I know that when we first met we didn't see eye to eye. I just want to repeat what I said to you during the Winter Festival, What goes on inside your head I do not always understand. But what goes on in your heart will never let us down". Po beamed, in the background Mr Ping started to cry from his pride towards Po.

Shifu stood triumphant on the table, "Now let us begin training". For the first time ever upon hearing those words everyone leaped up from the table and all enthusiastically went to train.

XXXXXXXX

Po and Tigress climbed into bed with each other silently, there were no words to say for they needed sleep. All of the masters of the Jade Palace fell asleep feeling tense and anxious.

The warriors slept as if tomorrow would be their end. However the only thing that was guaranteed tomorrow was that the battle would rock them as hard as any of their previous battles.

Tomorrow it Begins.

XXXXXXX

_The next morning_

Liu was sitting in his usual spot in the middle of the floor of his room, he did this to relax his mind for the ever nearing battle. His concentration was broken by the early morning sunlight softly glaring into his eyes.

He smirked internally and stood up, today was the day! He would finally kill the panda and take the Valley for his own amusement.

Liu went out of his room and began to wake up all of the wolves that were asleep, most of them just stayed awake through the night in anticipation for today. After all wolves were well known for being loving the taste and feel of battle.

He gathered the wolves outside and formed them into ranks, "Now then men I know that I've kept you waiting long enough for this, today we destroy the Valley of Peace and it's defenders, The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five! They've kept you under their heels long enough. It's time to take back what should rightfully belong to you, all I ask in return is that you leave the panda to me, if _one _hair is touched on him by anyone else besides me then I will kill you. I do not care what you do with the others,".

The wolves panted in excitement at the thought of drawing blood, Liu turned towards the direction of the Valley and began to walk towards it. The wolves began to follow him, their excitement was also shown through their stride, it had a patter that covered up the bloodthirsty thoughts. They kept pace but didn't dare walk in front of him.

**I know morning sickness isn't usually this quick but let's be honest, it's a story about a panda who learns Kung Fu. Over on the Kung Fu Panda marathon we've reached the Oogway Ascends cover, it's our first attempt at a musical cover...it's made more difficult by the fact it's traditional Chinese music. It's short so I'd appreciate it if you had a listen and left some feedback.**


	13. Chapter 11

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 11- It Begins**

**As a Christmas present you can have two chapters in one day!**

_"This is it...today's the day where it could all end"_. Po opened his eyes and stared down at the one in his arms, the one who had stood by him now for years and who he loved for most of his life. She looked so beautiful, she still did and she always would at least in The Dragon Warrior's eyes.

Po almost didn't want Tigress to wake up, it would be a cruel reminder of what he had to do today, of what he had to survive. He knew it would be tough, most likely one of the toughest battles he would fight yet comparable to Tai Lung and Shen himself. But it was worth surviving for her and the countless others who needed him, relied upon him for his aid.

Like all good things it came to an end though, Tigress stirred and woke up to the large sad eyes of her beloved, she knew him well enough now that she knew what those big sad eyes were telling her, the irrefutable fact he had been trying to avoid the gaze of for the past couple of days.

Today was the day where the Dragon Warrior and his friends could die.

"Good morning Po" Tigress said cheerfully, they both knew she was trying to help take his mind off of what was to come, they both knew it and embraced it regardless of how naive and irresponsible it was...they just couldn't bear the thought of losing each other once again.

Po smiled at her and gazed into her steel-like amber eyes, they belied the strength and courage he so desperately needed now more then ever. Tigress shifted over and lifted herself up with her forearms, "We've got some time before everyone gets up, is there anything you wanted to say now that we're alone, this might be the last chance we got for some privacy". She tried to cover up the sadness in her voice when she reached the end of her sentence.

A small murmur of a sob had escaped her lips, Po heard it but to save her the embarrassment of pointing it out he simply decided to answer her. "I just wanted to say thank you, we haven't been together long but the time we've shared whether privately or in the heat of battle have been among some of the greatest times of my life". Tigress was touched at the authenticity and warmth of his statement, it sent a warm pulse throughout her heart which had also skipped a beat.

Tigress embraced him in a passionate kiss, they had kissed many times before but this one felt different to Po. It took him a while but he recognized the alien sensation, it was pain, Tigress had infused the lip lock with the pain she was feeling towards the thought of a world without him. She was expressing her feelings the only way she knew how, through physical action.

She pulled away and stroked his cheek tenderly, "I'm not that great at making emotional speeches like you Po so I want to show you my love in some other way". Po smirked in anticipation at the thought of the sensations her would soon be feeling as Tigress made her way down his form.

XXXXXX

They soon made their way into the kitchen, Po and Tigress were met with the stony faces of their friends gathered around the table, they all had their respective weapons on their person. Shifu looked up at them, "It's time", he said simply.

The masters all solemnly removed their selves from the room. "Po before we leave you should wake your father up, when you've done that you, him and Tigress go and wait in the Hall of Heroes...good luck Dragon Warrior" said Shifu before leaving.

Po gulped and nodded to himself, he glanced at Tigress who simply stared back.

XXXXXX

Shifu and the others stood outside the barracks, the glare of the sun was soft almost as if a eulogy, though the master hoped it would not come to that. "OK Mantis and Monkey make your way down into the Village, lie in wait for the enemy then strike when you feel it best. Good luck to the both of you, I hope to see you make it out of this OK" order Shifu, Crane waved to them, "Bye guys" said Viper.

Monkey and Mantis quickly made their way down into the Valley. Shifu turned to Crane and Viper, "Let's wait on the steps, we should try to observe as much of their battle as we can, it could help turn the tide in our particular fight". Master and Students went to the steps, Shifu began to meditate, Crane paced and Viper simply stared out into the Valley. They also waited with baited breath for the sounds of fighting to begin.

XXXXXX

Monkey and Mantis stood side by side outside Mr Ping's noodle shop, "Sooo, out of ten how confident do you feel?" asked Mantis. Monkey was silent for a second, "Honestly, a three maybe".

"Oh", Mantis said quietly "Life and soul you are" he replied dryly, Mantis had honestly been hoping for a more inspiring answer. "It's not such much the skill of the opponents that has me worried, it's more the sheer volume of them", it had been a long time since Monkey had spoken seriously about a fight.

It was quiet for a time until they heard the sound of heavy footsteps against the hard ground.

Mantis hopped up on Monkey's shoulder and held his 'thingy' up to his eyes. "It's them" he confirmed. He leaped off of Monkey's shoulder, nodded to him and then dashed inside of the noodle shop to wait for an opportunity to strike.

Monkey leaped up on the roof of a nearby house, he confirmed with Mantis that they could see each other clearly in case they had to signal each other for something. Then they waited for the enemy to get into a position where they could ambush them all.

The wolves quickly filled up the village square, all in all there were about forty of them. It didn't seem a lot but there were only two master against an army. They had their weapons but they looked like mere toys against this kind of attrition.

The wolves simply stood snarling for a second, they clearly wanted to be let loose on the Valley to reap destruction but Liu had obviously ordered them to stay put for a little while.

Mantis looked up at Monkey for an indication of what was going on, Monkey simply shrugged and the two went back to observing the wolves. As if on cue Liu pushed his way into the center of the crowd, _"He doesn't look too good"_ Monkey observed, it was like the color had drained out of Liu, where he had once been shiny he had dulled.

"I will remind you all yet again that the Dragon Warrior is to be given to me if you defeat him, as for the others I again reiterate that I don't care what you do with them" Liu yelled. He spread his arms dramatically "Go wild", the wolves howled and quickly spread throughout the village like a cancer.

An idea quickly came to Mantis, the wolves were splitting off and going solo to cover more ground, this was an opportunity to take them all out one-by-one. He waved to Monkey to get his attention, he slowly mimed his entire plan to Monkey, when he had finished Monkey looked bemusedly at him, he clearly didn't understand.

Mantis sighed and saw two nearby wolves, he leaped out and silently took the two out, he dragged the bodies into the noodle shop. When he came out he gestured towards Monkey who nodded and went to work.

The masters worked quickly and quietly, Mantis used the Golden Shield to knock out several wolves as did Monkey with the Fist. They had a couple of close calls but managed to take out a fair number of them.

When the wolves reported back to Liu he noticed that there seemed to be a diminished number of them, he frowned "THERE ARE MASTER IN THIS VILLAGE TAKING YOU IDIOTS OUT! FIND THEM!".

Monkey and Mantis cursed him, it was going so well too. They quickly regrouped back at the noodle shop, "Well it looks like we're just going to have to face them in an open battle field" said Monkey. Mantis nodded wordlessly, "At least we'll be going out fighting right?".

Monkey smiled, "Of course".

XXXXX

Liu was despairing at the inadequacy of his forces, his fist clenched angrily. He turned and gasped when he saw Mantis and Monkey walking slowly towards him, "OVER HERE TO ME, THE MASTERS ARE HERE" he yelled to any nearby wolves.

Mantis chuckled, "You can't possibly be afraid of just the two of us can you?", wolves quickly surrounded the two brave master. There was a small moment of silence before they were lost to the swarm of incoming attackers.

XXXXX

Shifu gasped and fell out of his mediation state, "What is it Master is something wrong?" asked Viper who was naturally worried for he comrades in arms. Shifu nodded "I can no longer sense their chi, this means they are either dead or unconscious". Crane and Viper gasped, tears came to Viper's eyes as she mourned the loss of her friends.

Shifu sighed sadly, "I am sorry Viper but you cannot get distracted by your grief, we need you to concentrate if me and Crane are going to stand a chance of victory". Viper nodded glumly and regained her composure, Crane hugged her tightly, he missed his friends and also mourned them but he knew if he was to save his remaining ones that he needed to have his head in the game.

Shifu took a deep breath and readied his old bones for combat, "_It's been a while"_ he thought dryly. Just like Monkey and Mantis before them they waited patiently for what they hoped would be a diminished number of enemies._  
_

"DUCK!" yelled Shifu, Crane and Viper complied. Shifu made a few quick movements before bringing his hands close together vertically. After this, a large fireball formed between his hands and slowly moved forward towards the wolves. It began to act like a black hole by sucking nearby wolves in. The fireball then got shorter until it disappeared, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

Liu gasped and dived behind the remaining wolves in case Shifu could do that again . Crane and Viper blinked dumbly at their Master who looked fine for a second but soon collapsed from the exertion of performing one of the impossible techniques. Crane quickly knelt beside his master, Shifu coughed "I am sorry students, if I was younger then I might of been able to do that again or at least help you fight them, as it is now though you are on your own". Shifu closed his eyes and fell unconscious, Crane sighed sadly and faced his final battle.

Viper and Crane stared down at the wolves, they looked at each other and nodded then they leaped into the fray.

XXXXXX

Tigress and Po were standing side by side in the Hall of Heroes, neither of them had spoken in a while, they were both worried for their friends. Earlier they had been able to hear the distant sounds of battle between them and Liu's forces but now the Valley had fallen silent.

Mr Ping was standing at the back of the hall gazing into his reflection, worry was plastered all over his face. Mr Ping took a deep breath and gazed at his son and his love's rigid forms.

"It won't be long now Po" Tigress said quietly, truth be told her stomach was rife with nerves. Her ears perked up when she heard the sounds of movement outside, Tigress glanced at Po who also seemed to hear it, he gestured to the door with his head, the tiger master nodded and walked over to the door to check it out.

She peeked out of the crack in the wall and gasped at what she saw, Liu was standing right outside with some of his wolves restraining Crane, Viper, Monkey, Mantis and Shifu.

"Why did you spare them you fools!" yelled Liu angrily. Monkey chuckled "I'm not complaining", Liu ignored him.

"They look tasty and we're going need food after this" stated a wolf simply, Liu sighed irritably, "Very well, they are inured and restrained anyway so there shouldn't be a reason that they'll be a problem right?" The wolf nodded quickly.

"What, what is it?" asked Po frantically.

"He's right outside and he's captured the others" murmured Tigress. Po frowned, _"It's never simple is it?"_ they both thought in unison. They both grinned at each other, their friends were alive at least! "How do you propose that we rescue them?" asked Tigress.

Po scratched his chin in thought, a metaphorical light bulb went off in his head. He grabbed Tigress by the shoulders, "I have an idea" he said confidently. He looked over to Mr Ping, "Dad whatever happens stay over there out of the way, I could never forgive myself if you wound up hurt or injured", Mr Ping nodded reluctantly.

XXXXXXXX

"COME OUT PANDA, WE'VE TAKEN OUT ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. YOU HAVE NO ONE LEFT TO HIDE BEHIND!", Liu yelled at the top of his lungs. He frowned when he heard no sounds of movement come from within.

Suddenly the door to the palace creaked open, a little white rag on a stick poked out of the crack in the door. It waved around for a bit before being pulled back, a figure stepped out from behind the door. Po straightened up and walked confidently over to Liu and the handful of wolves that were left. Shifu and the others gasped, "Po what are you doing? He's going to kill you". Po simply ignored their protests.

"What is this panda?" Liu spat. Po smiled cockily, "I surrender unto you, a very good idea". The wolves looked suspiciously at each other, they all had the same thought, "Why is he acting so calm? Doesn't he know he's going to die here?".

Liu walked up to Po, he was inches away from Po trying to intimidate him but Po held his ground. "Where is Tigress? Did she run away, who'd of thought the brave and fearless Master Tigress would be such a coward at the end". A small growl made it's way out of Po's throat, it was a rookie error letting Liu's words get to him but he just wouldn't allow anyone to insult her.

Po quickly regained his composure and smiled softly, "She's gone, I sent her away to keep her safe", Shifu sighed with relief at this, although a part of him had hoped she would of come to save the day. "C'mon rust bucket, kill me and get it over with, then you can go back to being whatever lowly pathetic person you were before all this, before I killed you". Liu was silent, it was from surprise however as he never expected The Dragon Warrior to act so cruelly.

Liu's fist clenched, "Shut it panda", he gestured towards the wall. "Face the wall, I''l give you a moment to pray to any god you feel like".

Po smirked again, he walked over to the wall and put his hands against it. Liu put his paw on Po's shoulder and raised the blade ready to end it, a small chuckle from Po stopped him.

"What's so funny", Po stopped laughing. "Sorry, it's just that I never thought I'd be killed by such a loser". Liu was starting to get really angry, he removed his hand fro Po's shoulder and lifted the blade with both of his hands.

"Goodbye Dragon Warrior", Liu swung the blade with all of his might. Po swiftly moved and let Liu jam the blade into the door, it became stuck. Po pulled his fist back and struck Liu as hard as he could.

The blow was cathartic to Po. Liu stumble back, when he pulled his hands away from his face he saw that parts of his armor came off.

Po cupped his mouth, "NOW!". Tigress suddenly, burst the door open and rushed the wolves holding the five and Shifu. She quickly took them out and freed Shifu and the others.

Liu yelled angrily at the world, only moments ago he had been proclaiming his victory over The Dragon Warrior now he was surrounded by him and all of his powerful friends.

Shifu knelt down in pain, "Shifu!" yelled Po in concern, he didn't dare turn away from Liu however as it would give him an opening to attack. "I'm fine students", grunted Shifu. "I've seen how he is weakened! It's his body, the energy that flows within him is drying up, he was never going to last a long time. In other words".

"Students! Make him use his body's energy, he will eventually run out and die" Yelled Shifu.

The warriors nodded to show their understanding. Liu pulled the blade out and brandished it out towards them, "Just surrender Liu and I promise that you'll be given a fair trial" said Po confidently.

"Never!" he shouted in reply.

Tigress cracked her knuckles and smirked, "I was so hoping that you'd say that".

**Meanwhile on the KFP marathon we've reached our holiday special or more specifically on Middlemen Comms it's a Kung Fu Panda Christmas!**


	14. Chapter 12

**Rage of the Ifrit**

**Chapter 12- The End?...Don't Count On It**

_Now it's time for one last bow, like all of his other stories. Will Po succeed or die?, going out in a blaze of glory._

Po and the others stared down Liu, it was tense. Neither party dared to make a move on the other until..."HA!" yelled Po, he leaped at Liu and tried to sweep his feet. Liu jumped to dodge it and launched a kick towards Po's shocked face. Monkey came to his defense by wrapping his tail around Liu's outstretched leg and pulling him towards the ground.

Liu slammed into the floor, he let out a grunt and pulled Monkey towards him. He threw a vicious punch towards him which connected and sent Monkey into one of the pillars outside the Hall of Heroes. Tigress and Crane attacked next, Tigress went low while Crane naturally went high.

Crane dive bombed Liu with his beak outstretched, Liu grabbed Crane's beak and threw him into Tigress. Both of them were winded by this, the landed next to Monkey who was groaning and rubbing his aching face.

Shifu watched the battle cautiously, _"Hmmmm, Liu seems to have improved somewhat since their last encounter...or maybe his desperation and fear of defeat or pushing him on to fight harder. That's it students, keep wearing him down, wait for an opening.". _

Mantis and Viper dived in when they saw an opening, Mantis grabbed hold of Viper's tail and threw her like a javelin towards Liu. The snake curled her tail up to strike whilst she was sailing through the air, upon hitting Liu she unfurled herself and struck him heavily across the face with her tail. Liu stumbled a bit but quickly recovered, he kicked a tile up off of the ground and kicked it towards Mantis who because he was still reacting to throwing Viper couldn't dodge so the large stone tile hit his small form hard.

Liu grabbed Viper who was still in mid air and started to crush her throat, she desperately tried to struggle out of it but he was just too strong for her.

At this point Po had recovered from his first attack, all in all the small fight had lasted about five to fifteen seconds. They seemed to be evenly matched with Liu, Po gasped when he saw what was currently happening to Viper.

Po suddenly pulled the knife his father had given him, he had taken it this morning and hid it on his person...he was lucky that he hadn't cut himself when he landed on the ground. _"I don't need to kill him but, maybe I can immobilize him with this or something". _

"Hey jerk over here!" Po yelled to get Liu's attention. The armor fell for it and threw Viper to the ground aggressively, Po threw the knife towards Liu and caught him straight in the shoulder, the blade embedded itself in the quickly cracking armor. Liu gasped and tried to pull it out, before his fingers could grasp the hilt Po quickly sweeped his legs successfully this time and kicked him into the wall of the Hall.

The wounded warriors gathered around Po ready to finish the battle once and for all, Liu struggled to his feet. He glared hatefully at the six of them, Tigress and Crane were breathing heavily because of their bruised chests, Mantis looked wobbly on his feet because of the hammer like impact he had taken, Viper was rubbing her swollen throat with her tail and Monkey was trying not to say anything for fear of Exacerbating the problem.

"Give up, you've lost" ordered Po. Liu sized them all up before attacking them yet again. The five and Po all leaped in the air to make more space between them and Liu, Liu specifically targeted the panda. He kicked Po in the face with a surprising amount of speed, he then launched himself off of Po using his face like a springboard and tackled Monkey in mid air.

The two grappled in mid-air battling for domination before Liu kicked Monkey into Viper and Mantis, the three sailed into the roof of the Hall of Heroes, when the dust had settled they were no longer moving, a few of the tiles slid off and crashed on the floor splintering upon impact. Tigress connected a palm strike to the back of Liu's 'head'. Crane grabbed Tigress's outstretched paw and gently lifted her down next to Po who was currently rubbing the stars out of his eyes.

"You okay Po", asked Crane. He nodded, "We just need to keep him occupied a little while longer, he can't have that much energy left especially after having used so much of it to repel us all", said Tigress. She tried to stay confident but it really wasn't looking good for the six of them, Tigress herself was already spent after that earlier blow to the ribs, she also worried for the potential life inside of her.

Liu crashed into the ground beside Tigress, he slowly rose out of the dust. When he looked at Po, Crane and Tigress they gasped at how much punishment was starting to show on him, the mouth slot of his armor had come off so his inner energy could now be seen floating about ethereally within his own body.

He touched his own face and snarled at the damage done, his rage overtook him and a plan quickly formed. He concentrated his energy into the palm of his hand and let it trickle down to the floor. To keep the masters distracted he decided to converse with them.

"You haven't won yet fools, I've still got a few tricks left up my sleeve" he told them smugly. Po panted and smirked, "Really, 'cause from over here it looks like you're really falling to pieces over this".

Crane groaned at the terrible pun, "Hey Po could you try to be just a little bit serious, we're all spent and he doesn't get tired". Po nodded, "Yeah but I'm The Dragon Warrior and I've got the Furious Five backing me up, he's the one who should be worried".

Liu sighed internally, he needn't of worried about trying to stall for time, the panda loved to talk so much that Liu hardly needed to say a word.

He extended his arm towards the three worn out masters, "Dragon Warrior you really can't tell when someones stalling for time can you?". He launched a small see through blast towards Po, Tigress quickly reacted and pushed Po out of the way taking his place. The blast connected Tigress and Liu together and they both yelled in pain.

"Tigress NO!" yelled Po, he tried to get close but was held back by Crane. "Po stop! You don't know what could happen if you interfere, let's wait until the process stops then we can act". Po nodded sorrowfully.

When it stopped both Tigress and and Liu feel to their knees, their body's were smoking as if their very souls had been on fire. A wound had mysteriously appeared on Tigress's shoulder and she had some new cuts on her face and arms. Po knelt by Tigress who's face was creased up in pain, he looked over towards Liu and got up to start to walk menacingly over towards him. Shifu quickly took Po's place by Tigress and started to examine her to try and determine what was wrong with her.

Po rushed over to Liu and lifted him up, "What did you do to Tigress?" he yelled in his face.

Liu headbutted Po who released his grip and clutched his face, Liu quickly backed off and panted heavily, _"No matter how many time I practiced that technique it still seems to cost me as much energy. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers."_ he thought coldly. Po moved his hands away from his face and made his way over to Liu again to resume his interrogation, "I've made a connection with Tigress" proclaimed Liu. Po raised an eyebrow "Connection? What connection?" he asked. Shifu was also listening in just in case any leaked information could help him restore Tigress back to her normal self.

"I can make sure that any injury you inflict on me while also affect Tigress". Po stopped dead in his tracks and glared hatefully at Liu, for the first time since meeting this Po Liu felt a wave of fear at the look Po was giving him. Shifu gasped and desperately wracked his brain to try and come up with a solution, _"Come on! Useless old man, what's the point of me if I can't figure out a way to save my own foster daughter?". _While Shifu was internally berating himself Liu started to rub his victory in Po's face.

"Also any injury I had previously Tigress now shares with me, I bet you regret ever hurting me now huh panda?". Liu loudly laughed to himself, Po's shoulders slumped in defeat at the impossibility of the no win situation that The Dragon Warrior had been presented with. Fighting future selves, insane power hungry Kung fu master and megalomaniac peacocks was one thing, but now he was being asked to hurt some he cared about just so he could secure victory.

Tigress tried to get up but fell back down, _"No! Po can't give up just because of the thought that he might hurt me"_. Tigress took a deep breath and raised herself into a sitting position, Shifu tried to stop her but she simply shrugged him off.

"Po" yelled Tigress. "Just beat him! Don't worry about me", Po looked towards her desperately, "No, I don't need to do this. I don't want my future self's suffering, I don't want his future. I need you Tigress and I don't want to kill", Po was panicking. He honestly didn't have any ideas, but then... she smiled at him, Po then realized his personal feelings needed to pushed aside this one time so he could potentially save the one he loved. Po gulped and nodded with a new found sense of determination. The Dragon Warrior now knew how to hurt Liu enough without hurting his hardcore tiger.

Po grinned at Liu, "You want my life so bad?" Po spread his arms out dramatically. "THEN. COME. AND. GET IT!" he yelled with as much

"No" Liu hissed in disbelief, "You're so determined to win that you'd put her life in danger? How can you claim to love her if you're so willing to hurt her?". Po snarled "I'm doing this _because _I love her, it'll keep the Valley and her safe from you. That's all I care about". Po went into his Inner Peace stance to finally put an end to something he had helped create.

"Very well panda". Liu suddenly pulled the knife that Mr Ping had given to Po and leapt towards the panda.

Liu swung the knife down, "PO! NOOOOO" screamed Tigress. Po moved at the last second and pushed Liu arm down, the knife slipped into Liu's leg. He yelled in pain and fell to his knees. Tigress yelped at the sudden pain shooting through her leg. Shifu held her down to help ease the pain a bit, he knew the next couple of minutes would be rough so Po had to be as quick as he possibly could.

Po panted heavily, "Ok Liu, give up! This doesn't have to go any further". Liu shook his head "Never! You need to die".

Po sighed "Ok then, I've given you so many chances so don't say I didn't warn you", Po grabbed Liu's arm and thrust his palm at the elbow joint. Liu's armored arm completely shattered, the stone's essence poured out of it. Tigress screamed in agony at the bone in her arm breaking, Po's heart broke at her wailing but he focused on the task at hand.

Liu yelled in pain and clutched at the stump where his arm used to be, "I'm sorry Liu" said Po. Liu turned to him and yelled "Sorry for what? That you broke mine and Tigress's arms or sorry because you're just as bad as my Dragon Warrior?".

Po shook his head, "No, I'm sorry you have nothing better to do with your life then to dedicate it to hatred and destruction", with that Po plunged his fist into Liu's chest and put and end to the miserable creature, the wound didn't effect Tigress because Liu's concentration had been broken by the intense pain. The purple energy that sustained him flooded onto both Po's hand and the floor surrounding them. It had the appearance of blood, Po yanked his hand out and Liu's armor fell into pieces and shattered...it was over.

"Skadoosh" Po muttered sadly

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and a silent explosion. The force of it knocked Po off of his feet and sent him flying. It was the residual energy that inhabited Liu's form, because it had no form with which to contain itself it had to expel itself.

XXXXXX

_Many many miles away_

A small piglet was playing with her mother when they felt a small change in the winds.

_"I hope The Dragon Warrior is okay"_ thought the small worried piglet. After a couple of seconds of sending prayers to her heroes she went back to playing with her mother.

XXXXXXX

Po groaned, _"Man, I'm going to feel this later on. I've really got to start not getting into explosions"_, he gasped when he remembered something important, someone important, she was the most vital thing to him. He quickly ran over to Tigress and knelt beside her, she was panting heavily from the deep pain she was in, but at least she was alive.

Po stroked her head, "I'm so sorry Tigress, I-I just didn't know what else to d-". She quickly put her good hand over his mouth, "Don't you dare apologies for winning panda".

Shifu quickly made his way over to the two of them, he stood beside Tigress and held his hands over her numerous wounds. A small yellow light began to form and wash over the tiger master.

Tigress's wounds began to heal rapidly, her stab wound closed up and the blood disappeared presumably back to it's source. When it was over she quickly rose to her feet and felt her strength return to her. Shifu smiled at her, but to honest it was hard to. What Shifu had actually done instead of healing her wounds was seal them up but he transferred all the pain of it to him, he knew how valuable she was to both himself and Po so he had attempted this dangerous process which surprisingly worked.

"I apologize for not doing that earlier Tigress, but I couldn't be sure if your connection to him ran both ways". Tigress nodded her head, "It's fine Master". Po and Tigress were suddenly tackled by the rest of the Furious Five. Crane had obviously gone to retrieve them in the quick respite that he had, no doubt thinking of Viper most of all.

"You did it Po!" sobbed Viper. When she had blacked out she had feared both the lives of her friends and the life of the one she loved. Said Crane helped Tigress up to her feet and hugged her. Surprisingly she returned it, Crane beamed at her development and they all laughed and cheered at their victory.

In the heat of all the celebration Tigress whispered something into Po's ear, something that changed everything and made the coming years very exciting. Tigress had suspected it for a few days but now she was positive about what it was. Besides, now seemed as good a time as any to tell Po that she was pregnant.

The world slowed down for the panda, his entire world and perspective had just changed so quickly, so dramatically. Po had one reaction however.

Po leaped in the air, "YAHOO!" he yelled excitedly, when he landed he pulled Tigress into a massive hug and began to dance around with her in his arms. The others looked at him oddly while Shifu simply stared with a knowing smirk, he was as excited as Po but would not permit himself the luxury of showing it.

Before the others could ask what Tigress had just told Po Shifu spoke, "Well done students, you defeated Liu and saved the Valley once again. Now straight to business, two of you need to go and retrieve the villagers and bring them back here, another two need to sweep up the broken tiles and dust here to make it presentable again". Po laughed, _"Straight back to business as usual Shifu"_.

Zeng suddenly appeared out of breath and looking very haggard, Shifu slowly walked over to him, "Zeng! What are you still doing here? I told you to leave and find your family". Zeng took some deep breaths, "With respect Master Shifu, you are all my family".

The old panda was taken aback for a second, "Thank you Zeng, now what was it you came here to tell us?".

He whispered it to Shifu who gasped in shock, he turned to the others when the message was finished. "Students listen up!". They all gathered around, "Okay students ignore everything I just said ba-". "Done" said Monkey cockily, Shifu scowled at him. Monkey paled before him and covered his mouth with his hand, he then pulled his hand away upon realizing that he was still injured.

Shifu continued on, "Bandits who tagged along with Liu to try to reap some rewards are in the Valley trying to rob it while it's empty. I don't know how we're going to stop them but we need t-".

Po knelt down to Shifu, "I've got it covered Shifu . Always". Shifu beamed at his pupil, he was becoming the warrior he was destined to be. Although he was slightly annoyed he had been interrupted again he was glad it had been for a more mature reason.

Po stood up and chuckled "It never ends". He ran off to meet the new challenge with a renewed childlike enthusiasm, the old Po was back!

"And the adventure continues" smiled Tigress, she and the rest of the five followed her love into the throes of a new adventure. No matter the challenger, no matter the enemy, no matter the cost. They would never be apart again.

**That's it! The End. Now come on seeing how it's the last chapter and because it's Christmas, could everyone review this chapter and tell me what you thought of the story, it would mean the world.**

**I nearly cried with happiness upon hearing that Kari Whalgren, the voice of Tigress in _Legends of Awesomeness_, tweeted today that a _Kung Fu Panda_ film, titled _Secret of the Scrolls_, was screened at Dreamworks. It will be traditionally animated...Sniff...I'm sorry it's so beautiful, the thought of a traditionally animated KFP short. This is the greatest Christmas present, I wanted peace on earth...fuck that...new KFP short go now!**

**Ok on a serious note before I sign off I just want to thank Pandafan91 for his constant help and input during all three stories in this trilogy. It was essential and without him I would never of started fanfiction in the first place, it feels like such a long time ago since I posted 'Comfort', all the friends I've made and the fans I've garnered. It's certainly been a wild ride hasn't it? **

**You've always been the one constant, helping me out or giving your opinion on anything I post. So thank you Pandafan, you will always have my gratitude for helping me to realize just how fun and fulfilling this site and these stories can truly be. I can say with no hesitation he is my friend.**

**Thank you.**

**Oh and one more thing. Don't think you've seen the last of Po, Tigress, Shifu and the Furious Five, they'll be back. Maybe they'll have some company next time too, maybe he'll be a boy and maybe he'll have a tail.**


	15. Sequel

**There is now a sequel to this called The Dragon Warriors**


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